Breaking through the glass ceiling: women’s career advancement into higher leadership positions amid work intensification

Purpose Women are often marginalised in career advancement, and an intensifying work environment can worsen this disparity, continuing systemic inequalities and limiting development opportunities. Notably, the intersection of how deeply rooted societal norms and challenges in maintaining a healthy work–life balance impede women’s career progress remains underexplored. Drawing upon the conservation of resources theory and social role theory, this study explores the experiences and encounters faced by Malaysian women as they navigate their career progress amid increasing work intensification. Design/methodology/approach Using a qualitative approach, we interviewed two groups of participants. The first group comprised 17 women lecturers from research universities. The second group was a leader informant group providing complementary perspectives and included eight women and men in high-level leadership positions, two participants from NGOs and one senior government official. Findings Findings revealed that work intensification stemmed from (1) KPIs that are becoming unrealistic, (2) bureaucracy, (3) work uncertainties and (4) blurred boundaries between different life domains. Women reported negative impacts from cultural expectations regarding household roles in their work and personal interactions, besides workplace stereotypes, and differential treatment from men. The leader informant group revealed ongoing barriers to career advancement, primarily related to gender role stereotypes and their impact on leadership dynamics. Originality/value Through interviews with a wide range of participants, this study not only contributes to understanding barriers to women’s career progress in the contemporary work environment within the context of Malaysia but also explores potential improvements, including institutional reforms and organisational initiatives.