With International Women’s Day making its annual appearance, women often find themselves in a bizarre situation. Celebrated officially for one day each year with speeches, flowers and cupcakes, yet facing workplace inequality every other day of the year. Instead of symbolic gestures of appreciation, wouldn’t it be better to address the real challenges women face, and help them thrive?

Progress and ROI of Gender Equality

A Forbes article showed that in 2023, women CEOs led about 10% of Fortune 500 companies for the first time in history. This milestone highlights the slow progress in gender diversity, with women CEOs increasing from just 2 in 1998 to 52 in 2024. Despite this glacial pace, having more women in leadership makes good business sense.

• Financial performance: Research analysing over 84,000 leaders cited by Forbes reveals that companies with 30%+ female representation in leadership roles are 12 times more likely to rank in their industry’s top 20% for financial performance.
• Empathy-driven leadership: Global research also found that organisations with female-dominated (60%+) management teams achieved 31% higher employee engagement scores, driven perhaps by more authentic, empathy-driven leadership practices.
• Reduced corporate risk exposure: An eight-year longitudinal study of EU manufacturing firms (Yahya, 2023) shows those with gender-diverse boards had 27% fewer regulatory penalties and 19% lower litigation costs.

The economy as a whole benefits from improving female participation in the workforce. Evidence is mounting that supporting women’s development into leadership might be the best thing for businesses, so why aren’t more workplaces doing so?

What’s Causing the Gender Pay Gap

According to the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS), the gender pay gap (median gross hourly earnings excluding overtime) stands at 13.1% in April 2024. While this marks improvement from 27.5% in April 1997, the pace of change remains concerningly slow. According to  PWC’s latest Women in Work 2025 report, this mirrors global trends:

Across the OECD, progress towards gender equality at work remains slow, and at the current pace it will take 46 years to close the gender pay gap.

The gender pay gap is primarily maintained by differences in working patterns between men and women:

• Women are significantly less likely to work full-time than men (68.9% vs 89.9% full-time employment rate).
• Part-time roles typically offer lower compensation because industries with the highest concentration of women (and part-time opportunities) typically pay less.

This disparity is largely driven by caregiving responsibilities and prohibitive childcare costs, which often force women to seek flexible or reduced hours working arrangements.

Research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS, 2018) reveals a stark reality: women’s careers face permanent setbacks.

While the gender pay gap averages around 10% before parenthood, it continues to widen after childbirth, gradually increasing to approximately one-third (33%) two decades after the first child.

The crux of the issue isn’t women’s need for flexibility – it’s the workplace’s rigid structure. The inflexibility built into most conventional jobs remains the fundamental barrier to achieving genuine workplace gender equality. After all, Iceland’s success as the country with the highest female participation rate and the lowest gender pay gap across the OECD “can be partly attributed to Iceland’s generous parental leave policies and large childcare subsidies” according to PWC.

Old Habits Die Hard

How we currently work – including how we measure productivity, structure compensation, and allocate time off – was designed over a century ago for single-income households. The standard 40-hour work week with rigid schedules was created when domestic responsibilities were predominantly handled by stay-at-home women. This model made sense when employees had minimal responsibilities outside of work but now feels drastically outdated. Today’s reality is fundamentally different. In the UK, women’s workforce participation is at consistently high levels, with dual-income households becoming the norm. Modern families juggle careers, childcare, and domestic responsibilities in ways that the traditional work model never anticipated. Despite this dramatic social shift, many workplace policies and expectations remain stubbornly anchored in the past.

So why do we cling to these outdated standards when they don’t serve today’s workforce?

Where we work has historically been shaped by technological capabilities. From the Industrial Revolution’s factory-centred work to today’s digital transformation enabling remote collaboration, technological advancement continues to redefine our workplace geography. While in-person interaction is undeniably important, the rise of cloud computing allowing asynchronous work, sophisticated project management tools, and reliable video conferencing, challenges the idea that effective work always requires physical proximity. But trust is a paramount ingredient.

Reimagining Work: A Collaborative Approach to Flexibility

As we consider the challenges facing women in the workplace, there’s an opportunity to explore more supportive and adaptive work structures. While every organisation will have its unique context, priorities and values, thoughtful approaches to flexibility can create environments where women are more likely to thrive.

Some approaches employers might consider include:

Flexible Work Model Exploration

Consider experimenting with alternative work schedules, such as a four-day work week. Research from the UK Research and Innovation (2023) on the world’s largest four-day week trial found that working one day fewer increased productivity, reduced burnout and increased wellbeing. The key may be focusing on outcomes rather than strict hours worked, recognising that different people contribute in different ways.

Core Hours

Other options include defining core collaboration hours that allow for personal flexibility. For instance, establishing a common window (perhaps 10am-3pm) when team members are expected to be available, while providing flexibility around start and end times. This approach acknowledges diverse personal responsibilities and life circumstances.

Supportive Working Arrangements

Organisations may also wish to consider more nuanced approaches to flexible working:

1. • Job-sharing options
   • Remote work possibilities
   • Flexible approaches to parental and caregiver leave
   • Supportive return-to-work programmes for those who’ve taken career breaks

Holistic Employee Support

Look into supportive benefits that recognise the whole person:

1. • Explore family support resources
   • Provide access to mental health support
   • Create an environment that values different life experiences

Addressing Unconscious Bias

Unpacking and addressing the biases deeply integrated into organisational processes demands both courage and strategic thinking. Small, deliberate steps can create meaningful momentum towards a more equitable environment:

1. • Review recruitment processes to identify potential bias points
   • Provide optional unconscious bias awareness sessions
   • Ensure diverse representation in leadership and decision-making roles
   • Create mentorship opportunities that support career development

Closing Thoughts

This International Women’s Day offers a moment to reflect. Beyond celebratory gestures, true progress lies in understanding the complex realities of modern working lives. By approaching workplace design with empathy, curiosity, and openness, organisations can unlock potential, drive innovation, and create more supportive, dynamic work environments.

The most effective workplace transformations aren’t about rigid frameworks, but about listening and responding to employees’ evolving needs. The goal is creating an environment where women – and indeed all employees – can bring their full, authentic selves to work, and where they are trusted to work towards a shared goal.

Technological evolution presents an unprecedented opportunity to create more flexible, inclusive workplaces that better accommodate diverse working patterns. At the same time, doing so will require bravery, creativity, but most of all willingness to challenge norms and go against the grain.