Trajectory: Why Early Career Women Need Clear Pathways and How to Provide Them

By Tanya Andrews, Founder of Trellis Collective

When it comes to retention and engagement, few things matter more than a clear path forward. For early career women (ECW), that path or lack thereof can shape their entire experience in an organisation. It can influence their confidence, their connection to the business, and ultimately, their decision to stay or leave.

That’s what our 'Trajectory' pillar is all about: visibility of what’s next, and support in moving toward it.

It’s Not Just About Promotion

Let’s start with a critical distinction: Career trajectory is not just about promotions or pay bumps. It’s about progress and progress can look like many things:

• Increasing responsibilities
  
• Expanding technical or interpersonal skillsets
  
• Gaining exposure to different functions or projects
  
• Growing confidence and autonomy
  
• Feeling seen and supported in one’s ambitions
  
  

For early career women, this broader definition matters. Many have internalised the idea that “climbing the ladder” means ticking boxes as fast as possible, often without fully understanding the breadth and depth of what their role entails. They’re hungry, ambitious, and ready for more. But they’re also operating in a world that doesn’t always give them the tools, visibility, or clarity they need to chart a meaningful path forward.

And when that clarity is missing: Disengagement follows.

The Silent Resignation Risk

One of the most common conversations we have with early career women toward the end of our First Five programs is this: “Where do I go from here?”

It’s not that they expect to be promoted immediately. It’s that they don’t know what’s available to them or how to even find out. That lack of visibility breeds uncertainty, which often spirals into discontent. And if left unaddressed? It leads to resignation.

Not the loud kind, where someone throws in the towel. The quiet kind, where talented women begin mentally checking out because no one has taken the time to map out what their future might look like.

Trajectory is an overlooked strategy for retention. Most organisations assume that if someone is in the system, the career progression will naturally follow. But Gen Z women aren’t satisfied with waiting in the dark. They want to understand how to grow and they want to start now.

What ECW Are Actually Asking For

The requests from early career women are rarely unreasonable. In fact, they’re incredibly basic:

• Regular check-ins to discuss career goals and roadblocks
  
• Clarity on role expectations and KPIs
  
• Conversations about future opportunities for growth or change
  
• Permission to explore different skill sets
  
• Feedback that helps them understand where they stand and how to improve
  
  

These are not grand gestures. But for many ECW, they’re missing. And the absence of these basics sends a message, intentional or not, that their development isn’t a priority.

Trajectory = Communication + Visibility

Here’s the thing: your early career employees don’t need a rigid 10-year plan. But they do need dialogue and direction. They need to know:

• “What does success in this role look like?”
  
• “How can I start preparing for the next level?”
  
• “What else could my skills apply to across the business?”
  
• “How will I know when I’m ready for more?”
  
  

This is where managers and mentors play a pivotal role. You don’t have to have all the answers. But you do need to invite the questions. Open the door. Share insights. Provide visibility for their pathway within their current role and the broader organisation.

Even if there’s no promotion on the table, showing that you’re thinking about their future can make all the difference.

Rethinking Readiness

One of the biggest challenges for managers is helping ECW slow down long enough to grow into their roles. Many arrive with a “tick-and-flick” mindset: “I’ve completed the competency framework, what’s next?”

But ticking a box isn’t the same as mastering a skill.

This generation has been conditioned to consume information quickly, move fast, and expect constant progress. That urgency is not a flaw, it’s a product of Gen Z's developmental environment. But it does require recalibration.

To support growth without rushing it, organisations need to shift the way they frame competency. Don’t just ask: “Can they do it?” Ask: “Can they do it well, across a range of contexts, under different pressures?”

That’s the depth we need to help them build.

Support, Not Stagnation

Providing structure doesn’t mean micromanaging. It means creating predictable, achievable, and transparent pathways that align with their strengths and ambitions. This includes: 

• Encouraging cross-functional experiences during downtime
  
• Offering mentoring or coaching aligned to personal interests
  
• Helping them identify transferable skills
  
• Normalising lateral moves or pivots as part of a healthy career
  
  

As one manager shared during our recent training, “I ask them to make themselves redundant.” The goal isn’t just competence, it’s confidence, breadth, and readiness to take on more. That kind of framing shifts the focus from “what’s next” to “how well are you doing what’s now, to prepare you for what's next?”

The Bigger Picture

Ultimately, investing in trajectory is about investing in trust. It’s about showing early career women that they have a future here, not in vague terms, but in specific, actionable ways.

And when that happens? You unlock a level of engagement, loyalty, and performance that benefits everyone.

Because when early career women can see where they’re going, they bring more of themselves to the journey.

And that’s what trajectory is really about.