Career Coaching for Women

Is it worth it?

Jun 14, 2025

Introduction

We get a lot of advice, women. The endless stream begins with the first “Be careful!” warning we hear as we’re running around a playground and doesn’t ever seem to stop - even when the playground is replaced (sort of) by an open office.

Being socially conditioned to receive a constant stream of advice - warranted, useful, solicited or not - makes us a very good audience for products and services that promise to make an improved version of you. One that will be fit for promotions and pay raises in no time, of course.

But does it work? What does the research tell us about the various offerings out there? What are the outcomes in coaching that have been put through the paces of a scientific investigation - and, perhaps more importantly, does the evidence suggest you should bother with it?

Cariatide - 1956 - National Heritage Institute, Bucharest, Romania - CC0.

The Positives

Generally speaking, it is helpful to have a space in which you can devote time and energy to get useful input from someone who has wisdom and insight on a topic you wish to know more about. If you have experience with a mentor at work who fulfilled this role, you likely have your own evidence of that having been effective in helping you to learn or develop in a positive way.

Similarly, those who pursue coaching sessions likely have an underlying assumption of their individual capacity for change, growth, and development - and wish to direct that capacity at professional goals. This assumption is indicative of something called ‘self-efficacy’, which research has suggested is a “key psychological variable in coaching,” (Bozer & Jones, 2018). While we’re on the topic, there is a sizable amount of research that started back in the late 70s, early 80s with Albert Bandura’s (1977) seminal work on the the topic. In the decades following, that framework and theory has been expanded, and applied in the Organisational Psychology discipline interested in employee well-being and function. Studies have found daily self-efficacy to have a positive effect on:

performance as reflected in job crafting behaviours (Tims, Bakker, & Derks, 2014)
work engagement (Xanthopoulou, Bakker, Demerouti, & Schaufeli, 2009)
job performance (Xanthopoulou, Bakker, Heuven, Demerouti, & Schaufeli, 2008)

This is one example of how setting aside specific time and effort to improve, overcome, develop, learn, and experiment in a safe environment can support your desire for change.

Perhaps another good reason to pursue coaching is a way to fill in the learning gaps you may have fallen into during a career move. As an example, organisations have a terrible habit of internally promoting employees who are skilled in a technical area to a role that is primarily reliant on management skills. If you’re very lucky, there will have been a 2-day input session somewhere to try and cram in a How-To management guide before moving on and assuming you’ve got it all under control now. Choosing a coach to help you identify the underlying issues causing problems, and to then work on problem-solving together is generally much better than wandering around the management layer of your career, lonely and confused. Research has similarly suggested positive outcomes in relation to using coaching input as a means of improving one’s awareness of self. That refers to an understanding of how self-knowledge helps improve interpersonal relationships (London, Sessa, & Shelley, 2023).

Mud cloth by Vervaardiging: Sekou Traoré Mali - 1990 - National Museum of World Cultures Foundation, Netherlands - CC0.

The Negatives

There is an unfortunate undertone to a lot of professional coaching options for women. The subtext has a quality of Fix the Women - a feature in most goods/services made with women in mind. You may have encountered coaching sessions that promised to make you more “confident”, or have warned you that your “impostor syndrome” is holding you back, for example. This approach suggests your lack is solely the problem. This simplistic version of professional development options for women tends to overlook broader organisational (and systemic) challenges - and is limited in its ability to bring about real and lasting change.

That said, you do need to improve some skills - don’t we all?! However, if the coaching offer is narrowly focussed on how, as a woman, you’ve been socialised inadequately to compete successfully in a man’s world - and in response you need to learn the skills your male peers already have - it is unlikely to foster what will be needed for sustained outcomes (Ely et al., 2011). True, there will be something of use in improving your confidence, say. But it isn’t enough when a holistic view of challenges faced by women in an organisation is required.

An addendum to the Fix-the-Women limitations is the broken nature of the systems we have to function within as we navigate our careers. Perhaps ‘broken’ isn’t the appropriate adjective - perhaps it’s an unfortunate collision of systems that were designed by/for a small group of land owners, or ones which have not aged well, or ones which have become clunky in a lack of upkeep… you get my point. For example, pretending that everyone (women included) simply has to follow the rules and all will be well is naive, at best. There are deep, structural issues in organisations from hiring biases to cultural norms to glass cliffs and everything in between. Taking on a series of coaching sessions is not going to fix much of that broken-ness, but it’s necessary to have a perspective which recognises those problems exist as you work towards your goals.

Rita Levi Montalcini, digital illustration by Daria Kirpach/Salzmanart - Wellcome Collection, United Kingdom - CC BY-NC.

The Alternatives

Group coaching

In a study on the impact of a women-only group coaching, researchers found significantly higher bridging capital and courage in coached women, but found no significant difference in resilience and self-esteem. Additionally, the coached women (in comparison to the non-coached women in the study) were also more likely to receive a pay rise.

Bridging capital “refers to connections between individuals from diverse backgrounds, including employees from different organisations, professional colleagues and members of various social groups,” (Filleti & Jones, 2025, p.239)

In the section on Practical Implications, the authors highlight how group coaching can enhance bridging capital and courage by providing access to diverse networks. This can be beneficial to those who feel discouraged or isolated in their work. By connecting with like-minded women, group coaching can make a space to share experiences, gain perspectives, and build a supportive network to help you navigate workplace challenges.

To read more about the mechanics, how-to’s, and variations of group coaching, see the further reading list below.

AI Tools

I would not send for a robot when you need a human. The learning process requires quality input. That input needs context, care, guidance, empathy, listening, etc. The emotional intelligence skills required will not show up in the output you get from a pattern-seeking programme making predictions based on biased data sets that have been stolen from contexts different to what you’re interested in.

If it’s the cost that makes coaching unavailable to you, try to find a peer mentor within your existing professional network. Also, make sure you find out what’s available to you via your organisation. It’s fairly commonplace to have ‘professional development’ support in employment contracts these days. Granted, that is normally up to the Org’s discretion, but find out what you are entitled to as a first step.

Final thoughts

In answer to my question in the subtitle for this piece: Is it worth it?

Probably.

Yes, there are fundamental problems within the design of most jobs - nevermind the complicated relationship we have with concepts like ‘work ethic’ and ‘being productive’. We must recognise that we still have to get up and go to work most days, and that there are some changes we can make to decrease its negative impact. While this is not a piece on the virtues of contorting yourself into a job application version of the ideal worker, it is to recognise that research suggests even within the potentially limiting construct of the ideal worker, coaching can have a positive effect.

***

Ladies and Gentle-thems! Are you a professional, interested in engaging with others in a small group, participant-driven learning series? I’ve designed a programme called Professional Development Dialogues. There are three upcoming sessions on the topic of Power. Click on the button to register!

Power

***

I also offer individual career coaching for women (LGBTQ+ inclusive) and NBs. Email <butimaprofessional@gmail.com> with the subject “Career Coaching for Women Inquiry” for more information.

***

But I'm a Professional!