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Key Takeaways Most high-performing women spend 60% of their time on the work organizations publicly reward — committees, ERGs, mentoring, external visibility — while only 10% of it actually drives promotion.
The fix isn’t better time management; it’s a weekly discipline built on one question: did anything I did this week move me closer to the people who decide my next opportunity?
I was finishing my doctorate. I had two teenagers, one across the country at boarding school. I was working full-time, flying cross-country for school visits, writing and analyzing data in every available hour. Everyone said I was impressive. I was barely managing.
One morning, I arrived to back-to-back meetings on less than four hours of sleep. I had not eaten. My daughter had called in tears the night before. I walked into my office, closed the door and cried. Then I made a spreadsheet. I listed everything I was doing and calculated the cost. 60% of my time was going toward activities contributing to 10% of my actual goals.
The question shifted. Not “how do I fit more in?” but “what can I cut?” Within six months, I had eliminated 30 hours of weekly commitments. I finished my dissertation. My performance improved. And I got clear on my next move. The problem was never capacity. It was strategy.
Black women have always understood this. Domestic workers raising other people’s children while raising their own did not succeed by doing more. They succeeded by doing what was essential and letting go of the rest. My research put numbers to what they already knew.
This is what I call the 60/10 problem. Based on research across more than 600 Black women professionals, most are spending roughly 60% of their time on activities that organizations say matter. Those same activities account for only about 10% of what actually drives advancement. Following the signals. Showing up. Getting exhausted. Not getting promoted. Here is what is actually happening.
Where women’s time actually goes
The work companies publicly value
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