Women leaders in corporate America are switching jobs at the highest rate in years — and at a much higher rate than men in leadership, according to the eighth annual “Women in the Workplace” report by LeanIn.Org and McKinsey & Company.

“We are in the midst of a ‘Great Breakup’ in corporate America. Women leaders are leaving their companies at the highest rate we’ve ever seen,” Sheryl Sandberg, founder of Lean In, said in a statement. “They aren’t leaving the workforce entirely, but are choosing to leave for companies with better career opportunities, flexibility and a real commitment to [diversity, equity and inclusion].”

Women already are underrepresented in top corporate positions, and companies are losing them in record numbers, according to the report. The situation is even more pronounced for women of color.

The data show that for every woman at the director level who gets promoted to the next level, two women directors are choosing to leave their company.

One reason women switch jobs, according to the report, is that they feel undervalued. For example, women leaders are twice as likely as men at the same level to be mistaken for someone more junior. Additionally, according to the authors, women leaders are doing more to support employee well-being and foster inclusion, but this work is spreading them thin and rarely is reflected in their companies’ performance evaluations. 

“While 93% of companies take business goals into account in managers’ performance reviews, less than 40% do the same for factors like team morale and progress on DEI metrics,” according to the report.

The authors caution corporations that:

  • The factors driving women leaders to switch jobs are even more important to young women.
  • Women with traditionally marginalized identities continue to have worse experiences at work.
  • The desire for workplace flexibility is here to stay.
  • Remote and hybrid work are game-changers for women.
  • Managers are key to retaining women, but they need more support.

“To make sustained progress toward gender equality, companies need to focus on getting more women into leadership and retaining the women leaders they have. The ‘broken rung’ is real, and small differences early in advancements add up over time,” said Bob Sternfels, global managing partner of McKinsey & Company.