The discussion about women in leadership positions has been going on for years. And yet it turns out that numbers and ratings only tell part of the story. Behind this are people, stories, life plans — and structural conditions that decide on advancement or stagnation.

What distinguishes women who make it to the top from those who are slowed down halfway? And why do some companies find it easier to build female leaders than others?

Let's take a closer look.

📊 The Situation: Women in Leadership — Between Progress and Frustration

The proportion of women on the boards of large German corporations is around 25%. In medium-sized companies, especially in the service and social sectors, the figure is higher. However, especially in the classic industrial sectors and in technology-driven companies, management roles remain predominantly occupied by men.

Strikingly, the smaller the company, the higher the chance for women to take on leadership responsibility. In owner-managed businesses and family businesses, which are often more pragmatic and less characterized by rigid hierarchies, careers can be designed more flexibly.

✨ What successful women in leadership positions have in common

Women who hold high-level leadership roles today have more in common than just professional qualifications. They have:

✅ Excellent education — often academic, increasingly in male-dominated subjects such as law, business administration or engineering.

✅ International experience and the awareness of being able to assert oneself in heterogeneous teams and cultures.

✅ Strong soft skills such as empathy, strong communication skills, the ability to deal with conflict and the ability to lead cooperatively instead of hierarchically.

✅ Networks and mentoring experiences that favor career steps — because the famous "vitamin B" factor still plays a role.

🏡 Family background and private support: often underestimated, but crucial

An often underestimated factor: origin. Many women in top positions come from entrepreneurial families or from homes where diligence, independence and responsibility were exemplified. This doesn't necessarily have to be a corporate empire in the background — often an independent parent or an environment that supports careers for daughters as naturally as for sons is enough.

Equally important is private support in the here and now. Partnerships, friendships, mentors and coaches who encourage, have your back and provide stability in difficult phases. Women in leadership roles often report that they would not have overcome many hurdles without this support.

👩💼 Differences to men in leadership positions

A direct comparison reveals interesting differences:

• Women are more likely to work part-time, especially in middle management. This often inhibits access to top positions, even though their performance is in no way inferior to that of their colleagues.

• Mothers in leadership roles are rarer — not because they lack competence, but because structural hurdles and traditional role expectations make career and family life difficult to reconcile.

• On average, women earn 16-28% less than male managers at the same level.

• While men often plan their careers in a linear and strategic way, women tend to rely on performance and chance – and overlook the importance of targeted self-expression and networking.

📌 What Leaders Really Need Today

Regardless of gender, it is these skills that count in modern leadership positions:

• Emotional intelligence and the ability to take on different perspectives.

• Resilience — the strength to cope with defeat and learn from setbacks.

• Network capability — both internally and externally.

• Willingness to change and the ability to constantly readjust oneself and one's own understanding of leadership.

• Balance between closeness and authority in the team.

• And last but not least: the courage to question traditional structures.

🎯 How Quantensprung Consulting supports

This is exactly where Quantensprung Consulting comes in. We accompany companies and female managers on their way to a working environment in which careers are not random, but purposefully shaped.

Our offer:

💡 Organizational consulting and structural development — we identify systemic barriers and help to break them down.

💡 Kulturwandel projects — for a togetherness in which diversity is not a plaque, but a lived attitude.

💡 Establishment of internal mentoring and talent programs that make women visible and promote them in a targeted manner.

💡 Individual coaching and career sparring — for women who want leadership and want to work out the role in their own way.

💡 Leadership training for a modern, cooperative and gender-sensitive understanding of leadership.

💡 Team-building measures at management level to break up old thought patterns and establish new forms of cooperation.

Because: Career paths are not a one-way street and leadership is not a question of gender, but of potential.

👉 Let's talk if your company also wants to systematically strengthen female careers.

I look forward to hearing from you!