Representation is improving, awareness is growing, and corporate partners are investing in change. Women now hold 39% of senior executive roles in European Retail and CPG, a 14 percentage point increase since 2017. But to reach 50/50, we need to understand what is still holding progress back.

This research tells us clearly: the barriers limiting women’s progression, voice, and ambition are not relics of the past. They are present, measurable, and costly.

What the Research Found

LEAD Network partnered with Shape Talent to study barriers to career advancement for women in Retail and CPG, drawing on responses from over 500 employees across Europe. The findings span four themes:

• Voice: The Silence Tax. Nearly half of all women worry about how they come across in meetings, almost double the rate of men. When so much of your workforce is editing itself before speaking, the organisation is already losing.
• Value: The Negotiation Penalty. 43.8% of women feel greedy for asking for a pay rise, compared to 23.6% of men. The problem is not that women do not negotiate. It is that negotiating costs them more.
• Care: The Caregiving Trade-Off. Over a third of women believe pursuing career growth makes them a lesser parent or carer, nearly double the rate of men. This belief is embedded in organisational systems, not personal choice.
• Career Progression: The Uneven Pathway. Perceived lack of career progression is the strongest predictor of intention to leave. The leader, not ERGs or bias training, has the single biggest impact on creating a culture where everyone can progress.

These are not individual problems. They are structural, cultural, and rooted in leadership behaviour. As the report states: stop fixing the individual. Start fixing the system.

Access the Research

Download the full report here.

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