Welcome to the Broad Experience, the show about women, the workplace and success.

I'm Ashley Milthight. This time on the show, how much progress have women really made?

We've got a few token, big week women at the top of companies. We've got more women on boards.

But actually, what's happening below

is really of great concern. And what can a sluggish corporate culture do about it?

If you believe that having diversity at the top is actually a smart thing to pursue,

then you have to look at the whole career path. And the career path is such that women just can't be bothered.

They think the workplace that they're in is just so lousy that they leave.

Coming up, box ticking versus real change, and how paternity leave can lead to a better experience for women at work. I'm producing this episode of the broad experience in partnership with the Financial Times. I'm delighted about this because I've been a keen FT reader for years and long-time listeners will know I've already interviewed a couple of their journalists for the show. My first guest this week is

the FTs Carol Hoyos. She's the paper's recruitment editor. She works on a lot of coverage of

leadership and HR issues. She recently edited a special report on the status of women in the workplace.

Carola is Austrian, but she grew up partly in the UK and then went to college in the US and spent

years working there. She's covered a lot of different beats for the FT during the past 15 years or so

in both New York and London. She's now based in London with her husband and three children.

Before we spoke, we emailed about what to talk about.

And Carol said, basically, let's talk about the fact that women are stuck.

You say this is a dangerous moment when it comes to women's progress in the workplace,

where momentum is flagging.

But it's also quite an exciting moment, isn't it?

Because ever since Cheryl Sandberg wrote The Book,

there's been so much focus on women's status at work.

I think there has been.

...