Women’s Advancement Depends on Advocacy Not Just Effort

Women’s Advancement Depends on Advocacy, Not Just Effort

Effort Alone Isn’t Enough

Early in my career, I believed that if I kept my head down, delivered results, and outworked everyone, opportunities would come. I was raised to value work ethic, so my strategy was simple: do the job better, faster, and smarter than anyone else, and someone would notice.

And people did notice. But here’s the truth I learned the hard way: effort alone isn’t enough. What opened doors for me wasn’t just the quality of my work. It was the people who were willing to speak my name in rooms I couldn’t yet enter. The leaders who advocated for me made the difference between staying where I was and moving forward.

That realization influences everything I do today, from coaching leaders and partnering with organizations to showing up for other women who are working to break through barriers of their own. Because if women are told that hard work will “speak for itself,” we are being set up to fall short of the advancement we are capable of achieving.

In Nice Girls Still Don’t Get the Corner Office, Lois P. Frankel notes a common mistake: overlooking the importance of mentors and sponsors. Mentors offer guidance and feedback, while sponsors act as advocates who use their influence to open doors.

• A mentor will guide you.
• A sponsor will put your name on the table when opportunities are being discussed.

Sponsors advocate on your behalf when you are not in the room. They create visibility, connect you to influential networks, and place you on the radar for career-advancing opportunities. Too often, women miss out on sponsorship. Some hesitate to ask, worried they’ll seem like an imposition. Others lack access to the networks where sponsors exist. And in many organizations, bias persists. For example, men sponsor men, while women remain overlooked.

The result? High-performing women often stall before reaching the executive level. Not because they lack talent, but because they lack advocacy.

While systemic change is essential, women can take practical steps now:

• Seek both mentors and sponsors. Again, Mentorship develops your skills. Sponsorship accelerates your career. You need both.
• Be intentional. Identify leaders with influence—notice who gets opportunities and who is opening those doors.
• Make the ask. Sponsorship often grows from authentic relationships, but it can begin with a simple, specific request for visibility.
• Diversify your support. Having mentors and sponsors of different genders, races, and backgrounds provides multiple perspectives on the rules of the game.

And remember, sponsors benefit too. They gain credibility as leaders who develop talent and broaden their influence by being known for advancing others.

At PRADCO, we see the difference advocacy makes every day. Through our programs, we partner with both individuals and organizations to bridge the mentorship and sponsorship gap by delivering the following solutions and programs:

• Women in Leadership Program – A formal program that creates a safe, supportive space for women to strengthen their leadership skills. It provides a structured development experience where participants build confidence, practice key leadership behaviors, and engage in meaningful dialogue about the challenges and opportunities women face in the workplace. A valuable part of the program is the connection to a peer network — women who learn together, share strategies, and continue to encourage one another beyond the program.
• Executive Coaching – One-on-one coaching creates space for women to strengthen their executive presence, build confidence, and develop strategies for cultivating the right support systems.
• Mentorship Program Design – We help organizations create mentorship and sponsorship programs that go beyond “matching pairs” and instead focus on outcomes: visibility, opportunity, and advancement.

Our goal is simple. We help organizations reimagine leadership by building cultures where women don’t just work hard. They rise.

Again, the missing link in women’s advancement isn’t effort. It’s advocacy. Women already bring the talent, the grit, and the results. What they need is sponsorship that opens doors, amplifies voices, and creates opportunities.

If your organization is ready to make that shift, PRADCO is here to partner with you. Whether it’s building mentorship and sponsorship programs, investing in Women in Leadership, or supporting leaders through executive coaching, we can help you move beyond good intentions to measurable impact.

When women are supported, entire organizations move forward.