Many women are taught that hard work speaks for itself. Deliver excellent results, stay committed, and recognition will follow. However, the evidence tells a different story.
According to McKinsey’s Women in the Workplace report (2024), men and women move between roles at similar rates, yet men are more likely to gain salary increases and promotions from those transitions. This is not simply a gender equity issue. It is a challenge of strategic visibility and positioning.
Research explored in The Broken Rung and the Harvard Business Review article, How Women Can Win in the Workplace, highlights a significant insight. While women often accumulate valuable skills and experience, those contributions are less likely to be recognised and rewarded in ways that advance their careers. The result is a growing disparity in leadership visibility, opportunity, and career momentum.
Understanding Experience Capital
Experience capital refers to the strategic value of the work you have done. It is not just about effort. It includes the skills you have developed, the outcomes you have delivered, and the visibility you have built with decision-makers.
Experience capital is your professional equity. When it is invested with intention, it grows in value and creates new opportunities.
There are three key components:
- Skills
Breadth and depth of skill matter. While technical proficiency is important, human-centred skills such as communication, influence, and stakeholder management are often what move women forward in their careers. The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report (2023) lists analytical thinking, emotional intelligence, and active learning among the most critical skills for 2025. - Project Impact
Your work needs to be visible and measurable. Who saw it? What changed because of it? Did it contribute meaningfully to business outcomes? Many women work behind the scenes, often in roles that are essential but under-recognised. Without visibility, even high-impact work may go unnoticed. - Leadership Visibility
Relationships with mentors are helpful, but sponsors are crucial. According to the Center for Talent Innovation, employees with sponsors are 23% more likely to advance in their careers. Sponsors actively advocate for you when you are not in the room, making sure your name is included in conversations about new opportunities.
Why Women Need a Strategic Approach
The Harvard Business Review article reveals that women often build experience capital at the same pace as men, but fail to receive the same recognition or compensation. One contributing factor is the types of roles men and women typically occupy. Men are more likely to hold line roles with profit and loss responsibility, which tend to attract faster promotion and higher pay. Women, by contrast, are more often found in support or project-based roles that are less visible to senior leadership.
To change this dynamic, women must take a more strategic approach to career development. That means not only building experience capital, but ensuring it is seen and valued.
Building Experience Capital: Where to Begin
Here are four ways to take control of your professional growth:
- Identify stagnation. Notice if your skills, projects, or visibility are no longer progressing.
- Set clear goals. Define both short-term and long-term aspirations.
- Make bold internal moves. Do not wait for the perfect role to open. Look for opportunities to stretch within your current environment.
- Strengthen your network. Build relationships with sponsors, not just mentors, and seek feedback that challenges and supports you.
The Broken Rung underscores the importance of bold career moves. Shifting into roles that require new skills or increase your visibility often has a greater impact than a lateral move with a similar scope. These bold transitions are where growth accelerates.
Final Reflection
Building experience capital is not a passive process. It requires strategic awareness, intentional choices, and the confidence to ask for opportunities that stretch and elevate your professional value.
This is especially true for women navigating systems that do not always reward merit equally. By making your current work work for your future (not just your current role) you reclaim control over your career trajectory.
Support for Career Growth
If this topic resonates with you, I offer two ways to support your next steps.
Experience Capital Workshop
This interactive session is ideal for teams and organisations committed to building a culture of growth, development, and internal mobility. Participants leave with tools and frameworks that support long-term capability and performance.
Intentional Leadership Canvas (1:1 Coaching)
For women seeking tailored support, this coaching package offers a structured pathway to map out career goals, identify gaps in experience capital, and plan strategic moves aligned with personal and professional aspirations.
Both experiences are designed to empower women to grow their careers with clarity, confidence, and purpose.
