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- New European study identifies three systemic barriers – The Silence Tax, the Negotiation Penalty and the Caregiving Trade-Off – primarily affecting women but also men, caregivers and frontline workers.
- “These challenges affect men and women,” said Allyson Zimmermann, CEO at LEAD Network. “Solving them creates an environment conducive to high performance for everyone.”
- Our findings reveal that women, in particular, feel the need to edit themselves and holdback in meetings, they feel greedy asking for pay increases, and many feel that pursuing career growth makes them seen as a less committed caregiver. Solutions are within reach with the right focus,” said Sharon Peake, CEO at Shape Talent.
29 April 2026: Half of all women in Europe’s consumer goods and retail sector walk into meetings editing themselves before they speak. New research reveals this ‘Silence Tax’ is just one of three hidden organisational costs draining performance, innovation and talent from the Retail and CPG industry – and the problem runs far deeper than gender.
Built for All: Rethinking Career Advancement in Retail & CPG, conducted by LEAD Network in partnership with Shape Talent, draws on responses from 535 employees across the sector in Europe. While women face the most significant barriers, the findings reveal that men, employees without caregiving responsibilities, and workers at every level are also affected by the same structural failures.
“Across our industry, with the best of intentions, organisations have focused their efforts on the individual – investing heavily in programmes such as negotiation training and confidence-building for women. But we know that is not what creates change. We are making a clarion call: stop fixing the individual. Start fixing the system,” said Sarah McGowan, Strategic Research & Learning Advisor at LEAD Network, one of Europe’s fastest-growing non-profits dedicated to advancing gender equity and workplace inclusion.
ce, innovation and talent from the Retail and CPG industry – and the problem runs far deeper than gender.
The Silence Tax: When Half the Room Won’t Speak Up
The most widespread barrier identified is what the research terms the Silence Tax – the organisational cost of employees holding back ideas, feedback and challenge.
50% of women report editing themselves in meetings due to concern about how they are perceived, double the rate of men (25%). But this is not a women’s issue: frontline workers (50%) and team leaders (47%) report identical levels of self-censorship, and even Director-level employees are not immune (35%).
“At first glance this appears to be about confidence, but it isn’t. It’s about workplace environments where speaking up carries real risk,” said Allyson Zimmermann, CEO at LEAD Network. “When half the room holds back, organisations lose out on innovation, better decision-making and performance. These are the voices we’re not hearing, the ideas being left unsaid, and there’s a very real personal cost to the individuals being silenced. This is withheld potential with genuine commercial consequences.”
The Negotiation Penalty: The Cost of Asking
44% of women feel greedy asking for a pay rise, versus 24% of men – a gap of more than 20 percentage points. 39% of women worry about the consequences of asking, compared with 21% of men.
Crucially, the research challenges a widespread assumption: those without caregiving responsibilities experience this penalty at a higher rate than primary carers, disproving the idea that pay anxiety is driven by career breaks or motherhood. These pressures spike at critical career transitions, across all genders.
“The problem isn’t that women don’t negotiate,” said Sharon Peake, Founder and CEO of Shape Talent, a specialist gender equity consultancy. “It’s that negotiating costs them more. The evidence is clear: women face greater penalties simply for asking.”
The Caregiving Trade-Off: A Pressure Point for Everyone
35% of women feel that pursuing career progression makes them a lesser parent or carer – nearly double the rate for men (18%). For primary carers across all genders, this figure rises to 43%.
But caregiving pressures are no longer confined to women. 73% of men in the study report some level of care responsibility. Male sole carers are particularly exposed: 60% say their professional network has not supported their career, compared with 30% of women in the same position – a finding that points to what researchers call a ‘fatherhood forfeit,’ where working fathers trade a positive work experience for being an active parent.
“These challenges affect men and women,” said Allyson Zimmermann. “Solving them creates an environment conducive to high performance for everyone.”
Career Mobility: The Strongest Driver of Attrition
The research identifies perceived lack of career progression as the single strongest predictor of an employee’s intention to leave. Women are 2.5 times more likely than men to feel their manager has not clearly communicated how to progress – yet ambition itself is not the issue.
“Ambition is not a fixed trait,” said Sarah McGowan. “It is shaped by opportunity. When pathways are unclear or uneven, people disengage – and that is a rational response to structural and cultural barriers.”
The research is unequivocal on where responsibility lies: not with unconscious bias training programmes or Employee Resource Groups, but with senior leaders themselves.
“The leader has the single biggest impact on creating a culture where everyone can progress,” said Allyson Zimmermann.
From Insight to Action
The report sets out four priority areas for organisations seeking systemic change:
- Voice: Train leaders to create environments where speaking up carries no penalty; embed inclusive behaviours into leadership performance expectations;
- Value: Make salary ranges visible; train managers – not employees – to support all staff in advocating for themselves during the offer process;
- Care: Normalise flexible working and caregiving support for all genders; actively reduce the stigma associated with taking it up;
- Career Mobility: Establish formal sponsorship programmes; hold leaders accountable for developing diverse talent.
“These are not ‘nice to have’ initiatives,” said Sarah McGowan. “They are core to building high-performing, competitive organisations. The data is clear. These are organisational problems that need organisational solutions.”
“The data is unambiguous,” said Sharon Peake. “These barriers are not personal failings, they are structural ones. Every day organisations delay acting on this, they are paying a price in lost talent, lost innovation, and lost performance. That is a cost no business can afford.”
The full report is available at theleadnetwork.net and shapetalent.com/resources. A detailed Solutions Playbook is available exclusively to LEAD Network partner members – to find out more, visit theleadnetwork.net/learning-programmes.
About LEAD Network:
LEAD Network is a non-profit, volunteer-led organisation dedicated to attracting, retaining and advancing women in Europe’s Consumer Goods and Retail sector. With over 26,000 members from 81+ countries, 65 partner companies and 430+ active volunteers, the LEAD Network vision is to create workplaces where everyone can contribute and grow, and businesses can thrive. Through our programmes, communities and events, we aim to advance women and drive gender equality at all levels.
Learn more at theleadnetwork.net.
About Shape Talent:
A multi award-winning gender equity consultancy, partnering with forward-thinking organisations who are serious about gender equity. As experts in the design and delivery of results-driven gender equity programmes, Shape Talent brings together a psychology-led philosophy with evidence-based methodologies. It helps organisations make the sustainable change that leads to diverse and inclusive cultures where people and business can thrive. It has extensive experience working with organisations across the retail and CPG sector and understands the specific challenges and opportunities the industry faces when it comes to gender equity.
Learn more at shapetalent.com
Research Methodology Findings are based on the Shape Talent’s Three Barriers Model®, completed by 535 employees across the LEAD Network. The sample was predominantly female (77%, n = 404), with men comprising 22% (n = 119) and the 12 participants preferred not to disclose their gender. Respondents represented a range of carer statuses, role levels, and functions.
To support robust analysis, smaller categories were aggregated into analytically meaningful groups, including Sole/Primary Carers (n = 112) and Joint/Secondary Carers (n = 234), as well as Front Line, Team Lead/Manager (n = 270), and Director+ (n = 137) roles. Disability status was excluded from demographic analysis and reporting, as the number of respondents identifying as having a disability did not meet the minimum threshold for either statistical testing or descriptive reporting.
Responses across 26 sub-barriers were analysed by gender, carer status, role level, and function. A minimum threshold of 30 respondents per group was applied for significance testing; where this threshold was not met, results are reported for context only. Aggregation decisions were made to enable meaningful and statistically robust comparisons, and all findings described as significant were formally tested, with all other patterns clearly labelled as descriptive.
Disaggregated participants profile Barriers to women’s career progression were measured using the Shape Talent’s Three Barriers to Women’s Career Progression Scale (TBWCPS), a scientifically validated instrument assessing barriers across societal (5 items), organisational (15 items), and personal (4 items) domains. Each domain comprises multiple sub-barriers measuring the presence and strength of barriers. The scale demonstrates strong internal reliability across all domains (Cronbach’s a = 0.80 societal; 0.90 organisational; 0.73 personal), with excellent reliability for the overall scale (a = 0.92). All percentage-point differences described as “significant” in this report have been formally tested using two proportion z-tests, with associated p-values and Cohen’s d effect sizes reported. Where findings are described as descriptive only, this is explicitly stated.
Also read: 7 Ways to Develop More Women Leaders in Your Organization
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