A research report · The Empow-Her® Collective
Blocked
by Design
How invisible barriers prevent female progression.
Women's capability is not the limiting factor. The conditions around them are.
A new research report from The Empow-Her® Collective exploring what senior women’s experiences reveal about the systems, cultures and conditions shaping progression at work.
Drawn from 100+ senior women in UK leadership
Why this research matters
Senior women are not short of ambition, capability or experience.
Yet progression still slows, authority is still undermined, sponsorship remains inconsistent and too many women are carrying unsustainable levels of workload and invisible labour.
Blocked by Design brings together the experiences of over 100 senior women to identify the conditions that help and hinder progression at senior levels.
The central finding is clear
Women’s capability is not the limiting factor. The conditions around them are.
What the research found
Five invisible barriers - the “Negative Normal”
A set of hidden structural frictions that erode the leadership pipeline, even in organisations with the best intentions. Each one is a condition you can redesign.
Sponsorship
deficit
The vast majority
have no sponsor advocating for them in the rooms where decisions are made.
Authority
erosion
Most senior women
experience repeated gendered behaviours that undermine credibility, influence and psychological safety, including cumulative microaggressions and sexual harassment.
Conversion
lag
The overwhelming majority
said they had to work harder than male peers for the same progression.
Load
imbalance
More than half
describe themselves as burnt out, carrying a doubled load at work and at home that is rarely shared.
Development
disparity
Existing development falls short
of what senior women need, with generic programmes often disconnected from the realities of senior leadership and progression.
Most reports stop here, at the problem. This one doesn't. It hands you the POWER Model™ to see exactly where your organisation sits on the progression journey and a practical blueprint for what to do about it.
Who it's for
One report.
Two ways to read it.
For women in leadership
Your experience isn't a personal deficit to solve.
It's insight into the systems and conditions that need to change. The report names what so many senior women have felt but rarely seen written down, and what actually moves the needle.
For organisations & decision-makers
This is a conversion problem, not a capability problem.
For HR, talent, DEI leads and senior sponsors: a clear read on the leadership conditions your organisation is creating for women, and the practical levers that change them.
Get your copy
Download Blocked by Design
The full report, free. Tell us how you're reading it and we'll point you to the briefing made for you.
- All five findings, with the evidence behind them
- The POWER Model™ to locate where progression stalls
- A practical blueprint and reflection prompts to act on
A report by Clare Radford, Harri Demetrios and Nicky Lowe, three leadership specialists with over 50 years' combined experience advising boards and senior leaders. Evidence-led. System-aware.
© 2026 The Empow-Her® Collective. Blocked by Design: how invisible barriers prevent female progression.