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MissPerceived
Are Women Really “Less Ambitious”? The Truth Behind the Research
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Did women suddenly lose their ambition—or did the 2025 Lean In & McKinsey “Women in the Workplace” report give everyone the wrong story about what’s actually going on? In this episode, Professor Leah takes a blowtorch to the idea of a so‑called “ambition gap,” arguing that the real problem isn’t women’s drive, it’s burnout, mental load, and structural barriers at work and at home. Leah breaks down why women, who now earn more degrees and participate in the workforce at historically high rates, can still look at the next promotion and think “I literally cannot carry one more thing,” while men are socially rewarded for chasing the top job.
You’ll learn:
- How stats about “wanting a promotion” are being misused to claim women are less ambitious than men—and why that’s a myth.
- The role of mental load, caregiving expectations, and workplace bias in draining women’s capacity long before ambition ever disappears.
- Why reframing this as a burnout and structural problem—not a confidence or personality flaw—is key to closing gender gaps in leadership.
If you’ve ever been told you’re “not ambitious enough” while simultaneously doing everything for everyone, this episode is your permission slip to call bullshit—and to start imagining a version of success that doesn’t require you to disappear to achieve it. Keywords: women in the workplace, ambition gap, Lean In report, McKinsey, burnout, mental load, working moms, gender bias, promotions, women’s careers.
Follow Leah: @prof.leahruppanner
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