Oliver Wyman Women in Consulting Webinar 2026

Gender Progress Falters

The latest evidence points to a retreat in corporate focus on gender equity. Released in December 2025, the Women in the Workplace report from McKinsey and Lean In documents a multi-year decline in commitment: only half of surveyed companies treat women's career advancement as a high priority, with 21% assigning it little or none. This marks a shift from earlier peaks where gender diversity enjoyed broader emphasis.

In consulting, the pattern holds. Industry data from 2025 shows women comprising a majority in entry-level and non-management roles—often over 50%—yet their share falls steadily up the hierarchy, reaching just 23% in top management. This 'leaky pipeline' persists despite consulting's emphasis on talent and intellectual capital, where diverse perspectives drive client solutions in finance, strategy, and operations.

Recent changes compound the issue. Companies have scaled back remote and hybrid options, formal sponsorship, and manager advocacy—supports shown to help women advance. For the first time in over a decade, an ambition gap appears: 80% of women versus 86% of men express interest in promotion, with the disparity widest at entry and senior levels. When support matches, the gap vanishes, suggesting structural rather than personal causes.

Non-obvious tensions emerge here. While some firms maintain or expand inclusion networks, mentorship programs, and partnerships for gender equity, broader corporate retrenchment creates uneven progress. Top performers have boosted women's leadership representation by seven percentage points since 2021, but laggards stagnate. In consulting specifically, elite firms compete fiercely for talent; inaction risks losing high-caliber women to competitors or other sectors.

Global benchmarks underscore the stakes. Women hold only 34% of senior leadership roles worldwide, with parity projected not until 2051 at current rates. In consulting-heavy regions like Australia, where this event originates, sustaining pipelines matters for long-term competitiveness in a knowledge economy.