Are you focused on the glass ceiling while tripping on the broken rung?

We talk a lot about the glass ceiling, but what if the real barrier to women's advancement happens much earlier, literally at the first rung to manager? In this episode of Flourishing Edge, I'm joined by Quailyn Ellingrod, senior partner at McKinsey Company and author of The Broken Rung. We unpack the data that shows that the biggest inequality in the talent pipeline isn't at the top, but at the first promotion to manager, where careers either accelerate or quite least stall. We explored why education alone doesn't translate into advancement, why women are often over-mentored but under-sponsored, how weak networks quietly cap lifetime earnings, and why experience capital, not just credentials, is what really compounds over time.