Workplace gender equality is still stuck: despite corporate pledges, pay gaps, bias and unequal promotions persist. HR leaders must take real action – starting now, says Siân Harrington
International Women’s Day should not be a corporate branding exercise. Yet every year businesses roll out well-meaning statements about gender equality while the data tells a different story. The reality is that pay gaps persist, women are still underrepresented in leadership and workplace cultures remain riddled with bias. Worse still, many men believe these problems have already been solved.
Real change requires more than diversity pledges and token promotions. It demands structural reform, not just in hiring and pay but in how businesses measure success, allocate opportunities and define leadership. But, according to evidence, most current efforts are failing. If companies want to retain talent, drive innovation and future-proof their workforce they must go beyond surface-level solutions and embed fairness into the very fabric of their workplaces.
The illusion of equality: why perception and reality don’t match
New research from HiBob shows just how far apart men’s and women’s workplace experiences really are. Some 76% of men believe their company pays people equally for the same role, despite official figures from the ONS showing that full-time working women earn 7% less than men on average. The disconnect extends beyond pay, with 69% of men believing promotions are awarded fairly based on performance, yet women continuing to be overlooked. A quarter of women saw no increase in pay, benefits or position in 2024, compared to a fifth of men.
This misplaced confidence is one of the biggest barriers to progress. If those in power – typically men – believe that gender inequality is no longer an issue they see no need to change the system. But the evidence proves otherwise. Culture Amp’s research finds that women consistently feel undervalued: only 56% believe the right people are rewarded and recognised at work compared to 61% of men. At senior levels the disparities are even starker. While 100% of male C-suite executives feel respected in their roles, only 75% of their female counterparts say the same.
The UK is not just struggling at a company level, it is falling behind globally. The PwC Women in Work Index ranks the UK 18th for workplace gender equality, its worst position in a decade. The country now lags behind its G7 peers, with a particularly low female full-time employment rate of 68.9%, well below the OECD average of 78.1%. At the current sluggish pace it could take over 30 years to close the gender pay gap entirely. Meanwhile, nations like Ireland and Canada have seen faster post-pandemic improvements, proving that real progress is possible with the right policies.
When women are systematically undervalued and overlooked, businesses lose out. Studies show that diverse leadership teams drive higher profitability, stronger innovation and better decision-making. However this requires more than just hiring a few more women but an overhaul of how organisations define, measure and reward leadership itself.
The broken systems: why traditional DEI efforts are failing
Decades of diversity training, mentorship schemes and unconscious bias workshops have not closed the gender gap. This is because most corporate initiatives focus on fixing women rather than fixing the system. The reality is that bias is not just an individual issue but deeply embedded in workplace structures. As Harvard gender experts Iris Bohnet and Siri Chilazi argue in their book Make Work Fair, businesses need to de-bias policies, not just people.
Take hiring. A study last year on implicit and explicit gender bias shows that decision-makers unconsciously favour men, even when female candidates have the same qualifications. The effect is even stronger when male and female candidates have different, but equally strong, credentials. Faced with this scenario many hiring managers shift their standards to justify selecting the man.
The same biases exist in performance evaluations. Women are often judged on perceived potential, while men are assessed on past achievements. This leads to fewer women being promoted, creating a self-perpetuating cycle of male-dominated leadership. Meanwhile, pay disparities remain hidden because many businesses still lack full salary transparency. According to the HiBob research only 51% of women believe their employer is fully transparent about pay, compared to 66% of men.
These structural barriers will not disappear with more training sessions or vague commitments to “’diversity’. Companies must take measurable, systemic action, starting with pay transparency, promotion accountability and clear career pathways for women at all levels.
The path forward: what HR leaders must do now
Gender equality will not be achieved through goodwill alone. It requires clear policies, enforced accountability and a willingness to confront uncomfortable truths.
PwC’s research confirms that increasing female workforce participation is directly linked to productivity and GDP growth. As Phillippa O’Connor, chief people officer at PwC UK, told The Guardian: "Investing in gender equality isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do." Yet the UK is failing to capitalise on this opportunity. Tech remains one of the worst offenders. Zoe Kelleher, club executive, London for AND Digital, notes that 90% of women in the sector report gender bias, often amplified by unequal pay.
Sheila Flavell CBE, COO of FDM Group, emphasises: "Seeing ‘sluggish’ progress towards closing the gender pay gap underscores that the UK is still a long way off from workplace equality. Fair pay, training and career progression for women should be a given in the modern workplace."
Yet too many companies treat gender parity as an afterthought. The organisations that take decisive action now will lead the future of work, while those that delay risk being left behind.
Gartner’s research identifies three critical steps that all businesses should follow:
- Revalidate compensation philosophy: Organisations must audit pay structures to ensure that they are transparent, equitable and compliant with evolving laws such as the EU Pay Transparency Directive. This is a legal and financial imperative, as well as a moral issue.
- Engage leadership: Senior executives need to move beyond performative allyship. Culture Amp’s findings suggest that female leaders have a more accurate view of workplace realities than their male counterparts. Companies should actively listen to their insights and embed their perspectives into decision-making.
- Review and adjust compensation policies: Pay gaps do not close themselves. Businesses must proactively monitor, report and correct salary disparities, ensuring that women are paid equally for equal work.
Beyond these steps companies must dismantle outdated ideas of leadership. HiBob recommends five actions that HR leaders should implement immediately:
- Invest in an inclusive culture: Build environments where gender equity is the norm, not an afterthought.
- Commit to C-level gender diversity: Set tangible targets for leadership representation and hold executives accountable.
- Equalise the bottom line: Offer equal pay, childcare options, flexible hours and structured mentoring programmes.
- Eliminate double standards: Challenge unconscious bias in hiring, promotions and performance evaluations.
- Celebrate diversity every day, not just on International Women’s Day.
No more excuses: time for real change
For too long businesses have treated gender equality as a secondary concern, something to address in HR workshops or IWD marketing campaigns. But this is a business-critical issue. The companies that act now will gain a competitive advantage in talent retention, innovation and long-term profitability. Those that do not will fall behind, losing top talent and facing growing legal and reputational risks.
HR and people leaders hold the power to drive this change. But will they choose comfort or courage? We can’t just believe in equality. We have to build it – and do that now.