CAREER PERSPECTIVES | 11 An ambition gap Women in entry-level roles in financial services seldom envision themselves in a top executive A limited number of position; only 26 percent aim for this goal, as compared to 40 percent of their male peers and female role models Illustration to come 31 percent of entry-level women across all industries. Entry-level women in financial services in leadership cite a lack of interest in such roles, concerns about balancing family and work commitments, the positions may limit perceived pressure associated with the top jobs, and too much politics as the primary reasons the leadership career path is less appealing (Exhibit 3). While entry-level men share some of women’s motivation these concerns, they are significantly less likely to express concern over the pressure of the to make it to the top. job. This difference may be explained in part by real differences in the experiences male and female leaders report having in the work place. A limited number of female role models in leadership positions may also limit women’s motiva- tion to make it to the top. “The lack of women in C-suite positions is a self-perpetuating cycle,” says Deanna Strable, executive vice president and CFO at Principal. “Because we don’t have many females in the C-suite, young women don’t see role models or potential paths towards executive level leadership and are more likely to de-select themselves out of higher-level lead- ership roles.” Marianne Lake, CFO of JPMorgan Chase, believes that having more women at all senior executive levels is important to inspire entry-level women to aim higher. “I think women are looking at the industry, the board, the C-suite, and management to find people who are sim- ilar to them so that they understand they can also succeed in those roles,” she observes. Moreover, entry-level women are more likely than men to express concern about failure on the job. This may result from a confidence gap, but could also reflect a real difference in the impact of failure for men and women. Fifty-seven percent of entry-level women say that fear of a high-profile failure would impact their day-to-day experience as a top executive, compared to just 42 percent of their male peers. Lower ambition in entry-level roles is not the sole reason for women’s lower representation in the C-suite. Most of the senior women interviewed for this article were driven to succeed but say that they never consciously aspired to reach the uppermost levels of leadership. Rather, they simply worked hard to do their best at every stage in their career and maintained a strong Exhibit 3 Entry-level women in financial services cite several reasons for a lack of interest in top executive roles. Desire to be a top executive Leading reasons for not wanting to become a top executive for entry-level employees, among entry-level women, % agreeing % indicating “yes” Challenge Not interested of work-life Don’t want Too much Men Women in work balance the pressure politics 40 26 41 40 36 34 Source: Women in the workplace 2017, a joint report from LeanIn.org and McKinsey, 2017, womenintheworkplace.com