Who gets to lead the room?

She may already be the person who brings people together, solves a problem no one else noticed and keeps a project moving. Then comes the question of who is given the authority, resources and title to make those decisions openly.

Women accounted for 39% of managers among Canadian employees aged 35 and older in 2023. The figure records both a substantial presence and a gap. It does not tell us what any woman wants from her career, but it does show that access to formal decision-making remains uneven.

The picture changes across workplaces. In 2023, women held 51.9% of public-sector management roles in this age group, compared with 35.2% in the private sector. Those differences resist a single story about confidence or ambition. Hiring, promotion, networks, work design and the value placed on different fields all shape who advances.

Motherhood can be one part of a leader’s experience, but it does not define every woman’s path. Some women lead teams while raising children; some do not have children; some lead at work, at home or in community spaces without a managerial title.

There is room to celebrate the women whose names are on the door and to notice the women whose judgment has long been shaping the room without it.