Rethinking Sponsorship: A Critical Leadership Competence to Drive Gender Balance

This contributed article is written by Helen Tubb, Leadership and Diversity Advisor, calls for rethinking sponsorship in these emerging times so that companies can better leverage its value in elevating women’s careers and leadership. Helen’s piece explores her insights on the topic, grounded in her distinction-awarded research for INSEAD and specialist work with organizations across the globe. 

Why does gender balance in leadership remain so elusive? Women represent almost half of entry-level positions globally, yet do not even occupy a quarter of C-suite roles¹. Though the answer is complex, one barrier stands out time and time again: women are severely under-sponsored compared to their peers, in some organizations by more than 50 per cent, even more for women of colour and other intersections². This “Sponsorship Gap” not only holds back women’s advancement, but also undermines their recognition and inclusion when reaching senior roles.      

Companies have addressed this gap in varying degrees for more than a decade, ranging from doing nothing at all, to general awareness-raising, to formal programs. The diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) context for sponsorship has also shifted, with programs being scaled back in recent years³ and geopolitics now influencing the agenda. 

Cracking the code of sponsorship

The “Sponsorship CODE” provides a clear and easy way to understand what a sponsor does in practice to advance high-potential women in the workplace – as outlined below.

What sets sponsorship apart from mentorship or coaching is the level of personal and professional risk involved. Sponsors do not just advise from the sidelines — they actively champion talent within their own networks, including peers, superiors, and other stakeholders. This act of advocacy becomes especially complex when sponsoring women and other marginalized groups, as it often challenges entrenched power structures and disrupts traditional norms around who is seen and recognized as a leader.

“Sponsorship is immensely valuable for women where we have not fully tipped the scale of gender bias, and we have so many forces working against us. You need that trusted voice to vouch for you and push back on all the reasons being used to say that you are still not ready.” — Senior Executive / Woman Interviewee

Formalizing sponsorship to work through higher stakes

Ignoring this higher-stakes dynamic is not an option. The research highlights how companies without a formalized sponsorship approach end up reinforcing the status quo: senior figures (typically men) continue to sponsor replicas of themselves; and those who push boundaries and sponsor women are subject to rumours, misperceptions, and pushback in the organization – which detracts away from the woman’s inherent talent being the motivator for sponsorship in the first place. 

“When the relationship is mixed-gender, it can be brought into question, in particular the reasons why someone has been singled out.” — Senior Executive / Man Interviewee

“Female same-gender relationships in an environment that is ‘biased’ can lead to weaken the argument and be used against one or both the sponsor and sponsee.” — Senior Executive / Woman Interviewee

Formalization is therefore essential to rework the prevailing discourse. Sponsorship becomes gradually normalized — a more transparent, accessible practice where roles and expectations are set, all aligned with a company’s commitment to bringing on diverse talent and building an inclusive culture. 

Three ways to reframe sponsorship formalization

There is no one-size-fits-all in formalizing sponsorship in companies. However, a starting point can be to reframe in three distinct ways. 

#1 Sponsorship as a leadership competence

While women can gain greater awareness and agency in creating sponsorship opportunities, the deep change comes from engaging and coaching executives to sponsor a wider cross-section of staff and role model those behaviours for others in the organization. Sponsorship is fundamentally not a process or a program, it is a way of relating and showing up as a leader, bringing diversity-driven value to the business.

By integrating sponsorship as a leadership competence (much like emotional intelligence, negotiation, decision-making, etc.), underpinned by coherent accountability and support, it gradually becomes part of the company’s leadership DNA. It also helps to focus attention on inclusion in all forms, rather than necessarily targeting specific groups.

“It sounds super cheesy, but the personal growth and stuff sponsorship makes you think about has helped to think a lot more about what it means to be a leader…to be a white male leader.” — Senior Executive / Man Interviewee

#2 Better buy-in through broader benefits 

An overlooked area is the ‘Why’ of sponsorship for leaders (of all genders) and the positive effects for the business more broadly. The communication focus is understandably on women (and other marginalized groups) who can benefit and grow their careers. But the opportunity to highlight what sponsorship brings to senior staff is often missed. When done successfully, executives recount how they have grown in their own leadership, seen previously ‘unseen’ biases and inequities, better engaged with colleagues, and more. In some cases, this has directly sparked new conversations, ideas, and decisions in executive teams.

“I used to think I was one of the good guys, but in reality, I wasn’t doing nearly enough. I’ve become much more eyes open to the realities.” — Senior Executive / Man Interviewee

Hard figures can also be added to authentic stories. For instance, senior figures who sponsor are 53 per cent more likely to receive a promotion compared to those who do not⁴. Studies also show sponsorship-driven improvements in corporate market share and growth.

#3 More than one structural intervention

Think sponsorship, think stand-alone, target-group-specific program. This has been the traditional modus operandi for sponsorship over the years. Today’s reality is that sponsorship can be formalized in different ways, taking account of what already exists within the company and weighing up the pros and cons of each method — as illustrated below.

A success factor of any approach is how it intersects with internal communication, talent management, reward and recognition, and other important dimensions of people strategy and culture. Above all, it is wise to start small and pilot, working closely and iterating with key stakeholders.

A new imperative and way forward for sponsorship

If companies are serious about advancing gender equity and diversity in senior leadership, sponsorship cannot remain a goodwill gesture — it must be treated as a strategic leadership imperative. In today’s evolving DEI landscape, organizations have a choice: continue relying on informal, inconsistent acts of advocacy, or embed sponsorship as a systemic, high-impact lever for inclusion and positive change.

To learn more about Helen’s leading-edge consulting, workshops and talks on sponsorship, check out her work or get in touch below:

• Website: www.helentubb.com 
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/helentubb
• Email: info@helentubb.com

Footnotes:

1.  Global Gender Gap Report, World Economic Forum, 2024 ↩︎
2. Forget a Mentor, Find a Sponsor, Sylvia Ann Hewlett, 2013; and Closing the Gap: How Purposeful Advocacy Accelerates Women’s Careers, Women of Influence +, 2025 ↩︎
3. Women in the Workplace, LeanIn & McKinsey & Co., 2024 ↩︎
4. The Sponsor Effect – How to Be a Better Leader by Investing in Others, Sylvia Ann Hewlett, 2019 ↩︎