Some women get off the fast track before they ever encounter the glass ceiling,
which has been referred to as the opt-out trend. In a survey of nearly 2,500
women and 653 men, 37 percent of highly qualifi ed women report that they have
voluntarily left the workforce at some point in their careers, compared to only
24 percent of similarly qualifi ed men.25 Although some women voluntarily leave
the fast track, there are many who genuinely want to move up the corporate ladder
but fi nd their paths blocked. Fifty-fi ve percent of executive women surveyed
by Catalyst said they aspire to senior leadership levels.26 In addition, a survey of
103 women voluntarily leaving executive jobs in Fortune 1000 companies found
that corporate culture was cited as the number one reason for leaving.27 The
greatest disadvantages of women leaders stem largely from prejudicial attitudes
and a heavily male-oriented corporate culture.28 Some years ago, when Procter &
Gamble asked the female executives it considered “regretted losses” (that is, high
performers the company wanted to retain) why they left their jobs, the most common
answer was that they didn’t feel valued by the company.