Eight out of ten female executives report feeling they had to sacrifice some part of their career path or resign to pursue other priorities. Around 42% postponed or waived maternity in the process. These figures come from the Esade Gender Monitor, in its seventh edition covering 2023 after interviews with more than a thousand professional women and executives about gender balance in their organizations. A large share of respondents say they resigned due to concerns about mental health and well-being (67.2%), limits on leisure and free time (65.6%), and impacts on family relationships (48.7%).
There is near-unanimous belief that younger professionals, especially those under 30, should not feel compelled to resign as a rule. Yet there is agreement that sacrifices will likely be less common for this younger cohort. The reasons include greater progress in workplace gender balance and a lower tolerance for inequality (74.5%), along with higher confidence in their own potential (64.5%) among the new generation of women entering leadership roles.
According to Eugenia Bieto, director and co-author of the Esade Gender Monitor, the insights reflect generations of professional women. Women under 30 tend to prioritize balance between personal life, family, and work more than earlier cohorts; they are more aware of their rights as individuals and employees and are pushing companies to improve in these areas. They are also more vocal about gender equality, though the same group sometimes reports a lower level of professional ambition compared with predecessors.
Promotion and salaries
The study’s respondents are predominantly aged 40 to 59 (about 94%), most work for other organizations (90%), are employed in firms with more than 250 employees (81%), and 80% have two or more children. Additionally, 76% report combining in-person responsibilities with remote work.
Unequal treatment favoring men is noted by 85.4% of the executives surveyed. When asked to identify the most visible barriers in the past year, respondents highlighted promotions (43.1%), visibility of tasks (40.5%), and pay gaps (39.9%). In broad terms, they view two types of measures as helpful in reducing barriers: flexible reconciliation support and quotas, though they stress these tools are not always applied to their full potential.
Dues
Support for targeted quotas is moderate but present: six in ten respondents express agreement. As stated by Patricia Cauqui, co-author of the study and academic director of Esade’s Gender Balance and D&I programs, opinion is shifting with time. A few years ago, two-thirds opposed quotas; today, about 28% are against quotas while 51.2% favor quotas as a temporary step to fast-forward equal opportunity.
There is broad interest in the practical impact of policy changes. The clearest demand is for normalizing what individuals can achieve under any circumstance, regardless of gender. The strongest advocate is the call for visible female role models in media and culture (scoring 8.57 out of 10) and for shared caregiving responsibilities to be standardized in the private sphere (8.47 out of 10).