New Survey Finds 73 per cent of Sponsored Women Advance Faster — But Fewer Than Half Have Had a Sponsor

TORONTO, ON, April 15, 2025 — New research from Women of Influence+ reveals a disconnect between awareness and access: while most women understand the value of sponsorship, fewer than half have ever had one. This gap continues to influence who gets noticed, supported, and promoted at work.

Eighty-five per cent of women surveyed say they understand what sponsorship is, yet only 45 per cent have ever had a sponsor. The data suggests that while awareness is high, access remains limited — often influenced by informal networks, proximity to leadership, and subjective perceptions of potential.

The report, Closing the Sponsorship Gap: How Purposeful Advocacy Accelerates Women’s Careers, draws on insights from more than 400 professionals across North America. It explores how sponsorship — distinct from mentorship — remains one of the most effective yet inconsistently applied tools for career growth.

“The belief that talent rises on merit alone oversimplifies how advancement works,” says Maricel Dicion, Managing Director, Women of Influence+. “Sponsorship plays a defining role in who gets seen, supported, and promoted. If companies continue to treat it as informal or optional, they risk reinforcing the very barriers they aim to dismantle.”

Key findings include:

• 73 per cent of women who were sponsored say it significantly accelerated their careers.
• 86 per cent of women from racialized groups reported a positive impact from sponsorship, yet they are 12 percentage points less likely to have had a sponsor than white women.
• Among women who were never sponsored, 41 per cent cited lack of access to senior leaders, and 36 per cent said they didn’t know how sponsorship was supposed to happen.
• Only 35 per cent say their workplace actively encourages sponsorship, while 41 per cent report that no program exists at all.

The data also reflects broader patterns in leadership demographics. Of those who were sponsored, 79 per cent said their sponsor was a man. At the executive level, men accounted for 75 per cent of all sponsorship relationships. While women leaders are more likely to sponsor other women, they remain underrepresented in senior roles, limiting the reach of their influence.

When it comes to how sponsors choose who to support, the process remains largely unstructured:

• 92 per cent cited “perceived potential” as a deciding factor — a subjective standard often shaped by familiarity and unconscious bias.
• Only 31 per cent said they had intentionally sponsored someone from an underrepresented group.

Still, those who do sponsor report the experience as both meaningful and valuable:

• 86 per cent said they felt proud of sponsoring someone.
• 75 per cent said it made them more effective leaders.

The findings point to a practical opportunity: formalizing sponsorship can help close access gaps while reinforcing leadership accountability.

Participants shared concrete steps that could make sponsorship more consistent, inclusive, and effective.

Based on input from survey respondents, recommended actions include:

• Making sponsorship a formal expectation of senior leaders.
• Training executives to differentiate between mentorship and sponsorship, and to approach both with equity in mind.
• Auditing who is being sponsored, and by whom, to uncover systemic blind spots.
• Creating guidance to support cross-gender sponsorship, particularly for senior leaders sponsoring across lines of identity.

The full report is available at www.womenofinfluence.ca/sponsorship 

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About Women of Influence+

For more than three decades, Women of Influence+ has been at the forefront of sharing the unfiltered success stories of diverse role models to illustrate the unique paths and challenges self-identifying women and gender-diverse individuals navigate to reach success. Our goal isn’t to change the narrative — we are rewriting it.

We understand that there are many challenges women and their intersectionalities face when trying to navigate advancement in their careers. Instead of watching from the sidelines, we take a proactive, inclusive, and multi-faceted approach to ensure women are supported and celebrated every step of the way.

Through our work — carefully curated success stories, our awards programs, learning and development events, and our research — we are providing a reimagined definition of what it means to be influential. This definition isn’t static, it’s inclusive and dynamic, and deeply considers how influence is used to positively impact the world of business and work.We equip women with connections, support, training, and tools to carve new pathways and excel within their careers on their own terms. No matter what stage you are at in your career when you discover the WOI+ platform, there is something here for you.
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