Inside the "Great Breakup," and what it means for the women who stay
Back in 2022, when Lean In and McKinsey coined the term "Great Breakup," for each woman promoted to director, two others were heading for the exit. Those working mothers had not left the paid workforce for good. They were leaving the building, taking their badge and their institutional knowledge with them, for every one the company advanced.
Why the finding stings
The director tier is meant to mark the point where the toughest climb is finally over. You made it through the early years, the maternity-leave calculations, the manager who assumed you were the intern. You hold the title and the budget. That is exactly where women were heading for the door at twice the rate they were moving up. The problem was not confined to the entry rungs of the ladder. It was at the spot where the company had already invested heavily to fill it.
Where the figure originates, and the limits of what it reveals
The figure traces back to the 2022 Women in the Workplace report, the yearly study by Lean In and McKinsey, and it drew wide coverage, including from Katie Couric Media. Keep its boundaries in mind. It is a single year's ratio drawn from companies that opt in, a group that leans toward large American employers. "Leaving" refers to leaving a particular company, not to exiting corporate work. A number of those directors took a director role at another firm across town, a clear win for them that only registers as a loss for the employer who let them go. Findings from the 2025 report indicate the same underlying pattern persists. Across the country, promotions to manager reach 93 women for every 100 men, and only 74 women of color for every 100 men. Roughly four in five women report wanting a promotion, a little below the 86% of men who say the same, and once women get the same backing, that gap disappears. The ambition is present. Support is the deciding factor.
Picture yourself in the seat you occupy now
You have reached the director level. Over the last year and a half, two of the four women on your level in a Columbus office have moved on. One took a larger role at a rival company. Another launched her own venture. At the leadership offsite, the chief people officer shows a retention slide and never mentions either of them by name. Looking around, you see you are now the most senior woman present, and nobody has raised the question of what would keep you in place.
What it means for those who remain
Remaining put once departures start piling up is not automatically the prudent choice. You are already in a bargaining position you never recognized you were in. The company has just seen its investment walk out the door and knows the next person could be you. That position hands you leverage, and leverage does not last forever. A year from now the exits will be old news, and your loyalty will be treated as an assumption rather than a reason to act.
There is also the matter of added workload. With fewer senior women around, the requests multiply: more panels, more mentoring asks, more "could you sit in on this." None of that counts toward a promotion, yet all of it now lands on you.
What comes after
Open the retention discussion yourself, since your employer should have started it by now. Do it this month, not next quarter. You might say something along these lines: "Two of my peers have left this year. I want to stay. What is the plan for my next role, and what's the timeline?" A company that wants to keep you will respond with a specific role and a date. A workplace that lacks this will still express gratitude. Either answer tells you something, yet only the first one saves you from another year of uncertainty.
If women directors left your Ohio company this year, has anyone in leadership asked you to stay?