Moving from lip-service to action on International Women’s Day

On International Women’s Day, it’s tempting to post a message of support on your business socials quickly. Instead, why not consider more effective, longer-term action?

Take to social media on March 8, and you’ll see businesses posting about the same thing: women. Welcome to the annual phenomenon that is International Women’s Day.

What is International Women’s Day?

International Women’s Day [IWD] does what it says on the tin. It’s an annual acknowledgement of women’s achievements and promotion of their rights. Each year has a theme, and 2026’s is #GiveToGain, with a focus on driving gender equality through collective action. 

In 2024, UK government research found that 14% of SMEs with employees were female-led, which was down by 1% from 2023.

The idea for International Women’s Day was coined in 1910 by German women’s rights activist Clara Zetkin, and the first official IWD took place a year later in 1911. It has been sponsored by the United Nations since 1975. 

In the UK, a lot has changed for women for the better since the first International Women’s Day, but inequalities remain, like the gender pay gap, lack of leadership positions and workplace discrimination.

Modern inequalities for women at work

While the gender pay gap is closing in the UK, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show there’s still some way to go. In 2025, the ONS found the median gender pay gap for full-time employees was 6.9%, a decrease of 0.1% from 2024.

However, when the ONS study included both full and part-time employees, it found the gap to be much larger at 12.8%, reflecting the large number of women in lower-paid, part-time roles, often due to their caregiving responsibilities. 

Management consultant giant McKinsey has long pointed to a correlation between gender equity in companies and organisational success.

Women aren’t only paid less than men, but they are also holding fewer leadership positions. In 2024, UK government research found that 14% of SMEs with employees were female-led, which was down by 1% from 2023.

Another inequality is workplace discrimination. In 2025, HR Solutions provider Ciphr conducted a workplace discrimination survey, which found women were nearly twice as likely as men to report feeling discriminated against due to their gender; this was 15% of women in the survey compared to 8.5% of men.

The statistics show that women still face real barriers to progression and inclusion at work, meaning that International Women’s Day still carries great significance.

But supporting women doesn’t just look good for businesses; studies show it actually helps them perform better.

Good for women, good for business 

Management consultant giant McKinsey has long pointed to a correlation between gender equity in companies and organisational success. The International Monetary Fund backs this view up, too. It states that closing the gender labour gap will boost GDP in developing and developed economies. 

Another perk of supporting women at work is more innovative thinking, which is also good for business. A diverse team making decisions reduces the chances of ‘groupthink’. Any business selling products or services to a diverse market should avoid groupthink, which is when teams make decisions that conform to a dominant idea. The formula is simple: different voices, more innovative ideas.

So, before you’re about to post that IWD message on March 8, think about what your company is actually doing to support its women. Remember, if there is nothing behind your IWD post that backs you up as a pro-women business, increasingly purpose-driven job-seekers and customers will see through the facade, and your brand’s reputation could be at stake.

The evidence is in the research out there. Purpose and social impact are increasingly defining customer preferences, as well as talent on the hunt for new job roles. According to 2025 research from Co-operatives UK, 61% of younger workers take employer values and social responsibility seriously. With younger workers, including Gen Z, part of the current and future workforce, employers should be listening.

For every firm that posts about IWD on social media and does little else, there are plenty of businesses out there using March 8 to make a stand for women all year round. Just look at what these women-led SMEs are doing…

The female founders taking IWD further

Judit Mora, [pictured below], CEO and co-founder of Nuumad, a digital consultation platform for UK pharmacies and clinics, uses IWD as a starting point for real change. “We approach IWD as a prompt for action and conversation rather than a one-day celebration,” she explains.

“This year, it includes sponsoring two women-focused events taking place around the same time; one centred on peer connection within healthcare, and another focused on education and professional development, delivered exclusively for female community pharmacy owners, run by the Female Pharmacy Leaders Network. Supporting spaces like this matters to us because it helps create opportunities for learning, visibility and shared experience beyond internal conversations.”

For Frances Li, [pictured below], founder of boutique recruitment agency Biscuit Recruitment, IWD is about shining a light on her women employees, candidates and clients. “We regularly encourage women to put themselves forward for more senior roles when they’re hesitant, support them to negotiate salary with confidence, and act as career sounding boards rather than just transactional recruiters,” she explains. “We choose to work closely with clients who genuinely value flexible working, progression and healthy workplace cultures, because those things make a real difference to women’s careers in practice.”

Becky Simms, CEO and founder of Human First Collective, a collective of specialist, people-first businesses, uses her personal health experiences to make women’s health and relevant adjustments a topic of conversation within and beyond her organisation. “Through my own experiences with endometriosis, adenomyosis, and now medical menopause, we’ve worked hard to make women’s health a normal, open topic in the workplace, including becoming an endometriosis-friendly employer. I’ve also spent time advocating for a better understanding of women’s health at work through wider industry and government conversations,” she says.

“Alongside flexible working and private healthcare, we actively support other business leaders by sharing what we’ve learned, helping them understand why these conversations belong in the boardroom, and how small, practical adjustments can make a huge difference,” she adds.

For Elena Davidson, [pictured below], CEO of public relations firm Liberty Comms, IWD is a chance to prove their support for women at large. “We are proud supporters of the Working for Change programme, which sees us actively contribute hours of support and expertise to women-led businesses and NGOs that are driving gender equality, turning the spirit of IWD into real impact long after March 8th. This gives the whole company a tangible way to see how collective effort – even only a few hours – can lead to positive change and empowerment.”

At digital marketing agency First Internet, Co-owner and Marketing Director Julaine Speight acknowledges that her business operates in a still male-dominated tech-based sector. As such, she helps her female staff improve their soft-skills capabilities, which go beyond the technical demands of their day job.

“We actively focus on mentorship, flexibility and developing softer skills alongside technical expertise, because confidence, communication and belief in your own value are just as critical to long-term success,” she states.

Zamiha Desai MBE, [pictured below] Founder of RecommendAsian and ProfessionalAsian, which supports nearly 200,000 women, professionals, SME owners and consumers across the UK, has a two-pronged approach to IWD, which includes events around the day and longer-term support for women. “Every year, a couple of weeks before IWD, RecommendAsian hosts a breakfast and photoshoot. Our amazing photographer, Sheena Sabharwal, takes professional portraits of our business members in the IWD pose for that year. We eat together with these wonderful women, and they have the time to network with each other. This reinforces our sense of community, where we can share ideas, collaborate and build relationships,” she says.

“Our community comprises 75,000 women; they all help each other every day. Be it advice, sympathy, suggestions, support – it’s all about them and how we can help each other in our day-to-day lives. Specifically with employees, we have some amazing lawyers in our network who give great advice to those struggling in their workplace, as well as anecdotes from people who have been in similar positions and can offer perspectives. We interact with a lot of self-employed women, and we are there to champion them, their products and services, and to help with strategy and solutions when they have business struggles. In terms of the employees and people that we outsource to, we are flexible, which I think is what people need. Whether it’s around homelife, kids, holidays, we understand and are as accommodating as possible.”

For IWD this year and the years ahead, employers have two choices: to pay lip service to supporting women for one day or to follow the examples of these female founders and take action, no matter how small, to make IWD a year-round effort.

Your actions will be good for womankind, but you could improve your brand reputation and organisational performance too.

Remember, what is good for women is good for business.

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