How Women Are Using Internal Transfers To Escape Toxic Workplaces
Young woman working at a desk on her laptop while talking on the phone, appearing confident and engaged in a modern office setting.
When we talk about “career moves,” we usually think of promotions or job offers. But for many women, the most powerful move isn’t leaving for another company, and instead, it’s transferring within their own.
Internal transfers are often dismissed as sidesteps, but they’re strategic power plays. These moves allow women to escape toxic managers and hostile teams without sacrificing their careers, their health, or their future.
This Is How Women Pay The Highest Price In Workplace Toxicity
The U.S. Surgeon General has flagged that 84% of workers report at least one workplace factor harming their mental health, a reminder that workplace culture is a public-health issue. Women of color are disproportionately impacted by undermining behaviors and microaggressions that erode belonging and confidence.
As McKinsey & Company put it, “Compared with six years ago, Asian, Black, and Latina women are more likely in 2024 to perceive their race as an obstacle to advancement.”
Deloitte’s Women@Work 2024 research reinforces this reality.
“Nearly half of women are worried about their safety when they’re at work, when they’re traveling for work, or when they’re traveling to and from work,” said Emma Codd, Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer at Deloitte, in the podcast episode on the severity of ongoing challenges. “That has to change.”
Research also shows that even when women are promoted, they often face disproportionate emotional strain or work intensity, and are sometimes placed in top positions at underperforming firms.
“Even when women are promoted, they are often disproportionately exposed to emotional strain or work intensity and put in top positions at poor-performing firms, giving the illusion of opportunity while making it increasingly difficult to demonstrate the high performance needed for future promotions,” wrote author Caitlin Ray in a Journal of Management article titled Internal Mobility: A Review and Agenda for Future Research.
Why Is Internal Mobility A Lifeline For Career Preservation?
LinkedIn’s Workplace Learning report from 2022 found that companies that excel at internal mobility retain employees about 5.4 years, versus 2.9 years where mobility is weak. When organizations make movement easier, women don’t have to abandon their careers to protect their well-being; they can redirect them.
Still, internal transfers aren’t a cure-all, and women know the risks. Moving to a new team doesn’t guarantee inclusion. For instance, author Ruchika T. Malhotra from Harvard Business Review warns in this piece that being the only woman of color in the room can intensify self-doubt and vigilance.
“You don’t know whom to trust,” the piece notes, naming a psychological tax that can follow people across organizational charts.
Meanwhile, authors Deepa Purushothaman and Valerie Rein from MIT Sloan point out in an article that toxic cultures exact “negative mental and physical health outcomes, particularly for women of color,” underscoring the need to evaluate a destination team’s norms before you leap.
“By working with employees to map out their individual career path, you can set skill-building goals that will prepare them to apply for those internal opportunities when they arise. By developing skill-based career development plans for your entire workforce, you will make internal mobility a concrete, measurable, and attainable goal,” wrote LinkedIn Marketing Manager Laurie Moot, in this LinkedIn Talent Blog piece.
How To Reframe Transfers From “Running Away” To Reclaiming Power
Choosing an internal transfer is choosing yourself and choosing to invest your talent where it can thrive. The research is unambiguous: microaggressions and exclusionary norms drain performance and push women of color out; mobility and growth increase retention and engagement. A strategic transfer keeps your benefits and seniority intact, restores psychological safety, and positions you for the opportunities you came for in the first place.
Deloitte also emphasizes organizational responsibility. Codd explains in the Deloitte Women@Work 2024 podcast mentioned above that “we need to enable employees to talk about women’s health and mental health without fear, with policies and leaders who support disclosure and flexible work arrangements.” By putting these supports in place, organizations create the conditions where internal mobility can genuinely benefit women.
If your current team is harming your health or stalling your growth, an internal move is a recalibration toward the work, leaders, and cultures that you deserve.
