双语女仕界 | 过度指导，缺乏提携：为何女性难以晋升至领导层

多年来，导师制一直被视为职业晋升的黄金门票。领导者们指导、提供建议并分享自己的经历，大家公认认为做好准备是晋升的关键。但遗憾的是准备好并不等同于有机会，虽然导师制教会了女性如何领导，但却很少能真正让她们走上领导岗位。

For years, mentorship has been celebrated as the golden ticket to career advancement. Leaders guide, offer advice, and share their journeys, believing that preparation is the key to advancement. But preparation isn’t the same as opportunity. While mentorship teaches women how to lead, it rarely positions them to actually step into leadership roles.

实现这一跨越真正需要的是有人实打实地支持--需要高层领导积极倡导、且愿意利用自身影响力为女性打开大门、创造机会。若没有这种支持，导师制就会变成一个无止境且无进展的准备过程。然而遗憾的是，目前对太多女性而言，这种支持并没有走进现实。

That leap requires sponsorship — active advocacy from senior leaders who are willing to use their influence to open doors and secure opportunities. Without it, mentorship becomes an endless cycle of preparation without progression. Yet, for too many women, this kind of high-stakes advocacy remains out of reach.

麦肯锡《2024 年职场女性》报告中清楚地揭示了这种差距。女性仅占据 29% 的高管职位，在企业层级的每一级，男性都多于女性。这种差距在不同种族、族裔和行业中普遍存在。而缺乏实际支持和提携是造成这种持续失衡的主要原因。

McKinsey’s Women in the Workplace 2024 report makes this disparity stark. Women hold just 29 per cent of C-suite roles, with men outnumbering them at every rung of the corporate ladder. This gap exists across race, ethnicity, and industries. And sponsorship — or the lack of it — is a driving force behind this persistent imbalance.

指导与提携之间的区别不只是语义上的差异，更是影响上的不同。

The difference between mentorship and sponsorship isn’t just semantics. It’s impact.

指导关系源于建议和引导。导师可能会帮助某人完善领导风格、应对挑战或建立信心。而提携则关乎行动。提携者会扮演更果断的角色--他们在幕后为被提携者发声，将其与有影响力的关系网联系起来，并在任何有机会的场合里内提及他们的存在。

Mentorship is rooted in advice and guidance. A mentor might help someone refine their leadership style, navigate challenges, or build confidence. Sponsorship, on the other hand, is about action. A sponsor takes a more decisive role — they advocate behind closed doors, connect their protégés to influential networks, and speak their names in the proverbial rooms of opportunity.

提携本身就存在风险。提携者某种程度上是在拿自己的声誉做赌注，为他人冒险。而且，女性--尤其是有色人种女性--常常被排除在这些强大的关系之外。

Sponsorship is inherently risky. Sponsors are putting their reputations on the line for someone else. And all too often, women — especially women of colour — are excluded from these powerful relationships.

问题不在于女性没有得到支持，而在于她们得到支持的方式并不奏效。

It’s not that women aren’t being supported. The issue is how they’re being supported.

许多组织常常依靠导师计划来帮助女性发展，注重技能培养和职业指导。尽管这些计划很有价值，但它们往往未能提供女性晋升最需要的东西：机会。

Organizations frequently lean on mentorship programs to help advance women, emphasizing skill-building and career guidance. While these programs are valuable, they often stop short of offering the one thing women need most to advance: access.

这种失衡造成了一种挫败感的循环。女性往往准备充分却位置不佳--做好了领导的准备，却找不到施展的途径。

This imbalance creates a cycle of frustration. Women are often over-prepared but under-positioned — ready to lead but unable to find a way in.

--支持关系中的偏见Bias in Sponsorship Relationships

提携者倾向于支持那些让他们联想到自己的人--这种现象有时被称为“迷你自我偏见”（mini-me bias）。对于仍以男性为主的高层领导而言，这通常意味着男性更有可能被选中获得提携支持。

Sponsors tend to advocate for people who remind them of themselves — a phenomenon sometimes referred to as “mini-me bias.” For senior leaders, who are still predominantly men, this often means men are more likely to be chosen for sponsorship.

--对风险的恐惧Fear of Risk

提携支持是一种高风险的关系。提携人的声誉与被提携人的表现息息相关，而无意识的偏见可能会加剧在男性主导的环境中为女性发声所带来的恐惧。

Sponsorship is a high-stakes relationship. A sponsor’s reputation is tied to the performance of their protégé, and unconscious bias can amplify fears about advocating for women in male-dominated spaces.

--“准备就绪”的谬论The Myth of “Readiness”

女性往往需要先“证明”自己才有机会担任领导职务，而男性则基于潜力获得晋升。根据对美国 15000 多名员工的调查，38% 的在职女性遭遇过质疑其能力或削弱其领导地位的言论或行为，而有同样遭遇的男性比例为 26%。这种双重标准在女性职业生涯的每个阶段都阻碍了她们的发展。

Women are often expected to “prove” themselves before being considered for leadership roles, while men are promoted based on potential. Based on surveys of more than 15,000 employees in the U.S., 38 per cent of working women encounter remarks or interactions that challenge their competence or undermine their leadership, versus 26 per cent of men who report the same. This double standard slows women’s advancement at every stage of their careers.

缺乏提携不仅是个体面临的挑战，更是一个系统性问题，其影响非常深远。

The lack of sponsorship isn’t just an individual challenge — it’s a systemic problem with far-reaching consequences.

--停滞不前Stagnation

由于缺乏支持，女性在晋升、关键任务分配以及重要机会面前总是被忽视。

Without sponsorship, women are consistently overlooked for promotions, critical assignments, and high-profile opportunities.

--人才流失Talent Drain

由于晋升机会匮乏，许多有才华的女性离开所在组织，带着自己的技能和视角另谋出路。麦肯锡公司和“女性向前一步”组织的一项研究发现，在高级管理层及以上职位中，约有 10.5% 的女性领导者自愿离职，而男性领导者的这一比例为 9%。

Frustrated by the lack of advancement, many talented women leave their organizations, taking their skills and perspectives elsewhere. A study by McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.org found that approximately 10.5 per cent of female leaders in senior management positions and above voluntarily left their companies, compared to 9 per cent of male leaders.

--错失的创新机遇Missed Opportunities for Innovation

多元化的领导团队能带来更好的成果。当组织未能将女性提拔到高级职位时，它们就错失了只有多元化才能带来的创新和视角。

Diverse leadership teams deliver better outcomes. When organizations fail to sponsor women into senior roles, they lose out on the innovation and perspective that only diversity can bring.

如果我们真的想要缩小领导层中的性别差距，组织就需要重新思考其方法。提携支持机制必须从可有可无转变为不可或缺。

If we’re serious about closing the gender gap in leadership, organizations need to rethink their approach. Sponsorship must move from a nice-to-have to a non-negotiable.

以下是一些着手改变的方法：

--让提携支持关系成为有意为之之举

依赖非正式关系网会加剧不平等。有组织的项目要能够确保女性--尤其是那些来自代表性不足群体的女性--有机会接触到能为其发声的高层领导。

Make Sponsorship IntentionalRelying on informal networks perpetuates inequities. Structured programs can ensure women  —  especially those from underrepresented groups — have access to senior leaders who will advocate for them.

--挑战领导力培养渠道中的偏见

组织必须重新审视“准备就绪”这一概念。领导力是通过经验积累而成，而非追求完美。女性不应被要求达到比男性同行更高的标准，才能被视为同样有能力且值得获得机会。

Challenge Bias in Leadership PipelinesOrganizations must rethink the idea of “readiness.” Leadership is built through experience, not perfection. Women shouldn’t have to meet higher — or different — standards than their male peers to be recognized as equally capable and deserving of opportunities.

--让提携者承担责任

领导者不仅应以自身表现来衡量，还应以他们如何培养和提拔多元化人才来衡量。进步必须是可衡量的，与留存率、晋升率以及高层的代表性相关联。

Hold Sponsors AccountableLeaders should be measured not just by their own performance, but by how they develop and advance diverse talent. Progress must be measurable, tied to retention, promotion rates, and representation at the top.

--将提携与指导相结合

指导使女性具备领导能力；提携确保她们有机会发挥领导作用。女性要充分发挥潜力，两者缺一不可。两者都至关重要，但必须协同发挥作用。

Pair Sponsorship with MentorshipMentorship equips women to lead; sponsorship ensures they’re positioned to do so. Women need both to reach their full potential. Both are essential, but they must work in tandem.

仅靠指导无法缩小领导力差距。女性不需要更多的建议；她们需要愿意采取行动的倡导者。没有积极的倡导，女性仍会被限制在无法充分发挥其潜力的职位上。

Mentorship alone won’t close the leadership gap. Women don’t need more advice; they need advocates willing to take action. Without active advocacy, women remain confined to roles that fail to leverage their full potential.

正是它将准备就绪转化为领导力，将雄心壮志转化为晋升机会。那些将提携支持作为一种明确策略加以采用的组织，不仅会看到更多女性担任高级职务，还会看到各级领导力都更加强大、更具活力。

It’s what transforms readiness into leadership, ambition into advancement. Organizations that embrace sponsorship as a deliberate strategy won’t just see more women in senior roles — they’ll see stronger, more dynamic leadership at every level.

问题不在于女性是否做好了准备，而在于领导者是否准备好为她们发声。

The question isn’t whether women are ready. It’s whether leaders are ready to advocate for them.