The Mid-Career Ceiling: How Sponsorship Gaps Stifle Women in Canadian Tech

A new gender equity report from the Toast Institute, as BetaKit first reported, indicates that the path to the C-suite in Canadian tech is heavily dependent on professional sponsorship—and that access to this advocacy is unevenly distributed.

Released on Sept. 22, the report commissioned research from Calgary startup Cashew Research, which surveyed 934 tech workers across Canada. The findings highlight a critical distinction between mentorship, which provides informal guidance, and sponsorship, where a senior employee leverages their own professional influence to advocate for another person's promotion.

While sponsorship rates are higher for women at the junior and executive levels, a significant gap emerges at the mid-market tier. According to the report, 51 to 59 percent of men at the manager and senior levels receive active sponsorship, compared to only 32 to 37 percent of women. Overall, 51 percent of men surveyed reported having senior sponsorship, while only 35 percent of women said the same.

April Hicke, founder of the Toast Institute, told BetaKit that this disparity exists because companies often stop implementing formal programming at the mid-to-upper-management level, assuming the talent pipeline will function on its own. Hicke noted that while women have been told to increase their confidence for a decade, the data suggests that confidence is actually tied to whether a senior leader is supporting them.

This lack of advocacy has direct consequences for retention. BetaKit reports that among women without sponsorship, between 25 and 34 percent believe they must leave their current organization to advance their careers. In contrast, only about 10 percent of men without sponsorship feel the same. Conversely, 41 percent of women stated that active sponsorship increased their confidence in advancing within their current company.

To address these systemic gaps, the Toast Institute recommends that companies move beyond "cheaper" mentorship models and formalize sponsorship. The report suggests integrating sponsorship training into leadership programs and creating concrete opportunities, such as assigning women to high-visibility "stretch work" with real accountability and ensuring leaders advocate for them in decision-making rooms.