The Unspoken Crisis- a Culture of Burnout Among Women in Leadership

South Africa has supportive legislation for developing women in leadership, including the Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment Act 53 of 2003 and the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998. Statistics verify that only one woman CEO in the Top 40 Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) listed companies yearly, with six currently in the top 100 JSE companies. While there is much literature on the external challenges women face in executive positions, executives are hesitant to speak about the unspoken crisis that is becoming a culture of burnout. Women become isolated and overloaded because they desire to succeed and prove themselves in the traditionally male-dominated C-suite. This paper seeks to advance the knowledge surrounding burnout and women in leadership. It will follow a qualitative desktop methodological approach seeking recommendations to enhance the support of women in these roles. Scholarly resources, including Google Scholar, newsworthy articles, credible statistical-driven websites, and LinkedIn posts, were used to identify key themes. Although the topic of burnout is a vast area of research and engagement, the key focus of this study was women in leadership, its impact on their health and challenges to success. Key themes were narrowed to include the effects on mental health, chronic stress and gender bias. There is a direct correlation between burnout and the great resignation phenomenon within the C-suite. The principles of appreciative inquiry will underpin a clinical sociology intervention to address the challenges. Recommendations and success indicators were honed to examine future strategies for sustained women in leadership.