Some of the world's most powerful women are calling it quits. To give some context, for every woman stepping into a director-level leadership role, two are choosing to leave, says Alexis Krivkovich, McKinsey senior partner and an author of the joint Lean In and McKinsey "Women in the Workplace" report. The pattern has the potential to unwind decades of progress toward gender equity and increased female leadership in the workplace, she tells CNBC Make It. "They're meeting their goals and being successful, and some are choosing to leave before they get burned out," Workman adds. The problem remains that there are too few women in high levels of leadership, Krivkovich says: "Lots of men leave their positions, but we analyze and scrutinize when women leaders do in a different way.

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