CEOs say gender diversity is a priority. That's news to the women who work for them.

A new McKinsey report done in partnership with Sheryl Sandberg's group Lean In sheds light on a number of obstacles women face when trying to advance up the corporate ladder. Much of it is about what you might expect, but a particularly insidious obstacle is arguably a form of self-deception in which companies say that gender diversity is a priority but don't act like it.

McKinsey

This chart shows that nearly three-quarters of companies officially state that their CEO prioritizes gender diversity in his (or her, but really it's almost always his) decision-making. About half of men say they think this is true, but only about a third of women (who would be in a position to know) agree. And of course real priorities filter down to middle managers, who know they need to adopt the CEO's priorities in order to get ahead. And when it comes to their direct supervisors, men and women both overwhelmingly agree that gender diversity isn't a priority.

The result is a dynamic that's incredibly resistant to change. Companies aren't going to do things differently unless CEOs make it a priority, but you can't even get a discussion going about making something a priority when the CEO is invested in saying it already is.

Will you support Vox’s explanatory journalism?

Most news outlets make their money through advertising or subscriptions. But when it comes to what we’re trying to do at Vox, there are a couple of big issues with relying on ads and subscriptions to keep the lights on:

First, advertising dollars go up and down with the economy. We often only know a few months out what our advertising revenue will be, which makes it hard to plan ahead.

Second, we’re not in the subscriptions business. Vox is here to help everyone understand the complex issues shaping the world — not just the people who can afford to pay for a subscription. We believe that’s an important part of building a more equal society. And we can’t do that if we have a paywall.

So even though advertising is still our biggest source of revenue, we also seek grants and reader support. (And no matter how our work is funded, we have strict guidelines on editorial independence.)

If you also believe that everyone deserves access to trusted high-quality information, will you make a gift to Vox today? Any amount helps.

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via