Companies often assume that when mid-career women step back from leadership tracks, their ambition has faded. Our research suggests something else is happening.
The real pressure point is caregiving strain. Caregiver strain is the cognitive, emotional, and logistical burden of coordinating care for children, parents, or other dependents—and our research found it was the most powerful predictor of workforce exit.
Unlike other pressures, caregiving strain does not shut off when the workday begins: kids get sick, elderly relatives have bad falls around the clock. Yet most workplaces continue to treat it as a private matter that “doesn’t clock in” alongside paid work rather than a central driver of workplace outcomes.
In 2025, we conducted a national survey of 690 U.S. employees (354 men and 360 women). While both men and women caregivers reported similar levels of caregiving strain, women were more likely than men to report long-term unpaid caregiving responsibilities (83% to 72%), and thus were disproportionately shouldering more caregiving strain. Moreover, we found that caregiving strain, not ambition or seniority, was the strongest predictor of reporting burnout and exit consideration.
This was especially true for women in mid-level roles (managers, senior managers, and directors). Higher levels of caregiving strain was most strongly linked to increased burnout and a higher likelihood of leaving the workforce.
At this stage, job performance expectations are high, roles carry greater responsibility, and advancement depends increasingly on sustained visibility, availability, and informal networking. At the same time, caregiving demands tend to intensify—children require more complex support, elder care becomes more common, and financial and household coordination grows more demanding.
The result is a structural squeeze when escalating workplace expectations collide with intensifying caregiving demands.
