Next Sunday is International Women’s Day and I’ve been thinking about some data I came across this week.

Women are rated higher than men on leadership effectiveness by their bosses, their peers, and their teams.

Men rate themselves higher than anyone else rates them.

Women rate themselves lower than anyone else rates them.

And men still progress faster.

That isn’t a confidence problem or an empathy gap. That’s a selection system responding to self-promotion rather than performance.

The Women in Learning State of the Industry report puts it plainly: this isn’t a pipeline problem. The pipeline is full. It’s a selection problem.

Developing women while leaving selection systems unchanged isn’t progress. It’s activity.

A perfect example: the webinar that told me the data about ratings promoted another session on neurodivergent talent. Three speakers, all men. This isn’t an oversight. This is what structural exclusion looks like in practice. It’s not malicious, just unconsidered. And that’s EXACTLY the problem.

#IWD2026 #WomeninLearning #Leadership