Kweilin, Lareina, and María del Mar are friends, colleagues, and passionate advocates for advancing women in business and society. They are each senior partners at McKinsey & Company, supporting clients in different industries and geographies and have each served as McKinsey’s Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer.
The Broken Rung#TheBrokenRungBook
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Article | Harvard Business Review
How women can win in the workplace
Although women today outperform men in educational settings, they immediately lose ground once they enter the workforce, moving up the career ladder at significantly lower rates. One of the big reasons for this, say four McKinsey consultants, is that women aren’t building as much experience capital—the knowledge, skills, and wisdom that can be gained only on the job.
“The Broken Rung paints a vivid picture of the systemic, often hidden barriers women face in the workplace. With data-driven insights and inspiring stories, it’s an essential guide for overcoming career obstacles.”
— Marc Benioff, chair and CEO, Salesforce
“Women perform remarkably well at school but lose ground as soon as they start working. The Broken Rung shares deep research, lessons, and advice to raise awareness and help women succeed in their careers. Very good insights for men too!”
— Ana Botín, executive chairman, Banco Santander
“Around the world, women still face many barriers to advancement. The authors of this book aren’t just committed to building fairer workplaces—they’re working to help women navigate unfairness. The Broken Rung is a timely resource for women to take their careers into their own hands.”
— Adam Grant, No. 1 New York Times bestselling author, Hidden Potential and Think Again; podcast host, Re:Thinking
“Most people say they support women’s success. If you really do, read and apply this book. And then give it to everyone you know. When women succeed, we all do.”
— Reid Hoffman, cofounder, LinkedIn & Inflection AI; partner, Greylock
“The Broken Rung identifies one of the world’s toughest challenges for women and their careers, and it offers insightful, powerful, and practical help for them to overcome it through gaining and leveraging experience capital.”
— Paul Polman, former CEO, Unilever; coauthor, Net Positive
“A powerful guide for women aiming to succeed in their career … The Broken Rung not only reflects on the systemic challenges that women face in the workplace, but also shares many real-life, personal stories which are very relatable, actionable, and inspiring!”
— Jessica Tan, president, SunLife Canada; former co-CEO, Ping An
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Kweilin Ellingrud
Kweilin is a director of the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), where she leads McKinsey’s research on the future of work and impact of automation, human capital, and gender equality and racial equity. She is also a leader in McKinsey’s Operations and Insurance practices, implementing global performance transformations. She is the Chief Diversity Officer for McKinsey globally.
Kweilin coauthored “The Power of Parity,” MGI’s research on unlocking the potential of women to drive greater economic growth. She frequently writes and speaks about the untapped potential of women globally and strategies to achieve gender parity. Her writing has appeared in Forbes and TIME, and she has spoken at the United Nations, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the US Treasury.
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Lareina Yee
Lareina Yee is a McKinsey Global Institute director leading the technology agenda and the global head of Tech Alliances. She is an expert in frontier technologies and AI, and she advises companies on growth and transformation.
Lareina is also a leading expert on gender and diversity and a long-time champion of growing women and diverse leaders. She served as McKinsey’s first Chief Diversity Officer and cofounded “Women in the Workplace,” an annual research partnership with LeanIn.org that is the largest study of women in corporate America. In 2023, Lareina was named Forbes’ Future of Work 50 and has published perspectives in the Wall Street Journal, Fortune, and Fast Company.
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María del Mar Martínez
María del Mar has more than 25 years of experience serving organizations on risk and resilience and growth strategies, organization, transformation, and innovation. In addition to serving her clients, she has held various global roles for McKinsey across the years, including as a member of the global executive team. She was also a core leader in McKinsey’s Global Banking practice, the global leader of the Risk and Resilience practice, and the chair of the global senior partner nomination committee.
María del Mar was the first woman elected partner in her office. She’s led diversity research in Spain, Europe, and globally, including collaborations with the World Economic Forum. She also served as McKinsey’s Chief Diversity Officer.
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