Gender Equality at Work: What Does Continued Progress look like? (Author Q&A)

Gender equality in the workplace remains a persistent challenge and progress toward diversity, equity and inclusion has slowed in recent years across many countries and industries. This International Women’s Day, the UN’s theme of ‘Give to Gain’ underscores the importance of contribution and collective action in driving meaningful change.

At Kogan Page, we believe that sharing knowledge is essential to building pathways to lasting impact. For decades, women in business have broken barriers and created opportunities for others to develop and thrive.

In this Q&A, we speak with our authors about their industries, the changes currently underway for women and the actions that can be taken at every level to advance sustainable progress.

There is still much to be done, but it’s equally important to recognize and celebrate what women are doing for one another. Every effort and ounce of resilience counts.

#GiveToGain

1. If you could accelerate one area of progress for women in business, what would it be and why?

Fab Giovanetti: The development of highly tailored, holistic educational resources and support systems. Often, 'women in business' is treated as a monolith, but the reality is incredibly broad: a woman in tech requires different support than a woman in another sector. To get there, organizations need to create genuinely safe spaces and proactively ask: 'What can we do? What do you actually need to be supported?' When we ask that question, we can tailor our resources to the individual.

Most importantly, these resources cannot only be about hard business skills. We need to accelerate support for how women navigate the intersection of business and life. That means providing concrete resources for different life stages: whether a woman is deciding to have children, navigating peri-menopause or managing other major life shifts. True progress happens when we support the whole person as they grow through both their career and their life.

Nicola Askham: Sponsorship over mentorship. Mentorship tells women what to do; sponsorship puts your reputation on the line to open doors for them. What women need are advocates in rooms they are not yet in, people who will make introductions to speaking opportunities, networks and decision makers and who will say "she is ready for this" before she has even had the chance to ask. Senior leaders, women and men, championing women for opportunities rather than simply offering guidance from the sidelines - that would make the biggest difference.

Lisa Ventura: I would accelerate the dismantling of confidence bias in hiring and promotion decisions. Research consistently shows that women are evaluated on demonstrated performance, while men are often promoted on perceived potential. This creates a compounding disadvantage that follows women throughout their careers, regardless of their ability or track record. If organizations tackled this bias head-on through structured, criteria-led decision-making, the ripple effect across industries would be significant and long overdue.

Leigh Rodriguez: If I could accelerate one thing, it would be sponsorship tied to real work and real outcomes, not only mentorship. Mentorship is advice. Sponsorship is someone using their credibility to put you in the room, put your name forward and make sure you’re measured by your impact, not your likability.

Mollie Berke: I would accelerate clarity and transparency around how decisions get made. Who gets the biggest roles, who gets visibility with clients, who gets promoted. So much still happens behind closed doors or through informal sponsorship. When the rules are clear and applied consistently, women do not have to guess or overperform just to stay in the game.

Katherine Melchior Ray: I would accelerate the representation of women in leadership roles across industries and countries. Today, only about 1 in 4 C-suite leaders is a woman and progress has been painfully slow. At the current rate, McKinsey estimates it would take over 100 years to reach gender parity in the C-suite!  This is unacceptable!  Many years ago, I discovered McKinsey's Women Matter research that proves companies where women are most strongly represented at board or top-management level are also the companies that perform best. 

The truth is when women lead, outcomes improve: for companies, communities and countries.

Christina Garnett: Funding. Full stop. And before anyone says, 'Well, that's obvious,' yes, it is, which makes it even more frustrating that we're still having this conversation.

Funding isn't only money. It represents so much more. It says: we believe in you, we see your potential and we're willing to bet on it. The data has been clear for years. Women-led startups are chronically underfunded compared to their male counterparts, despite strong performance metrics. So, what are we actually waiting for? Let's accelerate funding and watch what happens. Spoiler alert: it's going to be extraordinary.

Claire Brumby: I’d accelerate women’s confidence to trust their own judgement without seeking out permission. I have met many highly capable women still holding back, being conditioned into second guessing themselves. When women back their intuition and make decisions without apology, change follows. Within innovation, performance, culture and commercial results. Accelerating self-trust at scale would change boardrooms faster than any policy alone ever could.

2. What's one standout action that an organization or colleague has done for you to amplify your voice or enable equality within the workplace?

Fab Giovanetti: Becoming genuinely attuned to my natural working rhythms throughout the month. They recognized a fundamental but rarely discussed reality: not every single week is the same, particularly for women navigating a menstrual cycle.

The team embraced the idea that we often work in 'seasons.' By appreciating that, they gave me the autonomy to scale back when I needed to and to sprint when I was at peak energy. It might seem like a small shift, but having a team willing to adapt to those natural rhythms was huge. It didn't simply enable equality; it empowered me to work with my energy rather than against it, which ultimately drove better focus and better results

Sonia Mooney: I’ve been fortunate to have some exceptional mentors throughout my career. They provided me with the support I needed to step outside my comfort zone and believed in me - especially in the moments when I didn’t believe in myself.

And they didn’t only offer advice. They used their influence and networks to give me visibility in rooms, places and spaces that I wouldn’t have accessed alone.

This kind of advocacy matters. It’s something we can all do: actively open doors, amplify voices and help create opportunities.

Nicola Askham: Early in my career, a senior colleague insisted I present my own work at a senior meeting rather than letting him relay it on my behalf. It sounds simple, but it was transformative. Being seen and heard at that level gave me confidence I did not know I was missing and credibility I could not have built any other way. That single act of stepping aside changed everything about how I showed up professionally.

Susi Miller: A transformational change for me was taking part in the Female Founder Accelerator by Eagle Labs and Accelerate Her. This is a program that perfectly embodies this year’s IWD theme of ‘Give To Gain’. The accelerator brought together a cohort of 100 ambitious, scale focused female founders. It intentionally created a space built on reciprocity and support. Knowledge was shared openly and experience was offered generously. Peer challenge was constructive and purposeful. The environment didn’t undermine or dilute anyone’s ambition; it amplified ambition.

Lisa Ventura: Being nominated for my MBE was a moment that genuinely stopped me in my tracks. Someone took the time to document my contributions, to articulate my value to others and to put my name forward without me even knowing. It was a powerful reminder that being seen and advocated for by others can open doors you did not even know existed. That kind of visible, intentional recognition matters enormously.

Leigh Rodriguez: The most powerful thing someone has done for me is make my work impossible to ignore, by turning it into a shared story with shared visibility. Not “Leigh had a good idea,” but “Here’s the data, here’s the impact and Leigh is presenting it.” As importantly, they made sure I had a seat at the table, even when I wasn’t physically in the room. They spoke my name in rooms that matter, brought my perspective forward and ensured my contributions were credited accurately. That kind of sponsorship changes everything, because it’s not only support in private, it’s advocacy in public.

Mollie Berke: I was driving a $1m client engagement without much of a team due to staffing constraints and senior leadership kept praising the partner on the work because she was the most senior person attached to it. To her credit, she consistently corrected that narrative and made it explicit that I was leading the engagement day to day. She did it in rooms I was in and rooms I was not in. That kind of public sponsorship matters more than people realize.

Katherine Melchior Ray: Leading a newly formed women's footwear division at Nike was one of the most meaningful professional experiences of my career. The structural commitment of separate category merchandisers and a dedicated sales team created resource prioritization for real insight and innovation.

3. In recent years, which workplace practice, policy or leadership shift, has genuinely improved outcomes for women and why has it worked?

Lisa Ventura: The wider adoption of flexible and hybrid working has been genuinely transformative, particularly for women who carry a disproportionate share of caring responsibilities. When organizations stopped treating presence in an office as a proxy for productivity, they inadvertently removed one of the most persistent structural barriers women face. It has worked because it treats people as capable adults and creates space for talent to thrive on its own terms.

Kasey Harboe Guentert: Although I study and write about employment law and policy mandates at work, I believe that truly meaningful shifts to support mothers at work happen with our families. In my generation (X), we saw fathers take actual leave after the birth of their children, which their own fathers did not. For millennials, we witnessed the first instances of fully split-parental leave. I expect that trend to continue with Gen Z’s. When men take parental leave, it stops sending messages about “women’s roles” and “men’s roles” in the workplace and at home and opens opportunities for participation more equally across genders.

Mollie Berke: Greater flexibility with real accountability has made a difference. Not just remote work, but trust around how and when work gets done, paired with clear performance standards. It works because it shifts the focus to outcomes instead of face time. For many women who are managing a lot outside of work, that trust is everything.

Christina Garnett: Pay transparency. When salaries are hidden, inequity thrives. Women have historically been paid less for the same work and without visibility into compensation data there's no way to challenge it. Pay transparency changes that. It forces organizations to justify their numbers, creates accountability and gives employees the information they need to advocate for themselves.

4. Where have you seen businesses move beyond performative commitments to make measurable progress in gender equality?

Susan Walsh: I'm still waiting to be honest, I think the ones that are doing it well don't need to talk about it or show off, they're doing it and getting on with it. We all want to be in our positions because we earned them, not as a tick-box exercise or a PR opportunity.  The day when we don't have to ask this question will be a great day.

Fab Giovanetti: The most powerful thing a company can do is strip away the pageantry, sit down and simply ask: 'What do you actually need to succeed?' It sounds incredibly simple and it's a shift that many people overlook, but creating that psychological safety and building initiatives based on direct, honest feedback is the only way to drive real, lasting change.

Nicola Askham: In most organizations I work with, I still see more performance than progress. But where I have seen genuine movement is where leaders have had the courage to look at their own data and be uncomfortable about what it shows. Not publish it and move on, but actually sit with it and ask hard questions about why. In financial services particularly, I have seen organizations apply the same rigour to gender equality metrics that they apply to risk and compliance. When it stops being a values conversation and becomes a governance conversation, with owners, accountability and regular reporting, things start to shift.

Prianka Jaidka: Identify their top talent within their organization and not only rely on line managers feedback. Use a full 360 approach to get a clear idea of where their talent is and use that data to create focused initiatives that deliver talent and succession for the organization.

Lisa Ventura: I have seen the most meaningful progress in organizations that have moved from gender equality as a communications exercise to embedding it into governance and accountability structures. That means setting targets, publishing data, tying leadership performance to outcomes and being transparent when progress stalls.

Leigh Rodriguez: I’ve seen real progress when organizations treat equality like they treat revenue: instrument it, review it and hold leaders accountable. When companies move beyond “time-to-fill” style vanity metrics and adopt scorecards that expose pipeline health, experience and outcomes, the conversation changes, fast. And when they combine quantitative data with qualitative voice-of-candidate feedback, it’s hard to rationalize inequity away. That’s the moment performative statements stop working, because the system is telling the truth.

Mollie Berke: I have seen real progress when companies get specific about the moments that matter most and rigorously audit them: hiring, promotion, pay, succession. Not a headline goal, but hard data reviewed quarterly with consequences attached. When gaps are surfaced and leaders are expected to explain them, the conversation shifts from intention to ownership. That level of discipline is what turns commitment into results.

Katherine Melchior Ray: Having worked in France, Germany and Japan, I've seen how different policy environments produce dramatically different outcomes. Europe, for instance, has moved from intention to obligation. A 2022 EU directive now requires that by 2026, listed companies achieve at least 40% of non-executive director positions held by members of the underrepresented sex, with penalties for non-compliance. The results of mandates like this are measurable: women made up 35% of board members of EU publicly listed companies in 2024, up sharply from just 9% in 2003. By contrast, the US has no equivalent federal mandate and progress has been far slower and more uneven. Among the Russell 3000, only 28% of boards have at least one-fifth of their seats held by women. Good intentions simply don't move the needle fast enough.

5. Where do you believe the next wave of meaningful change for women at work will come from?

Susan Walsh: I don't think we need a meaningful wave of change; we need small, incremental steps that are practised every day, so that it happens and changes before anyone even realises. As women, we need to step up and be role models for others, as uncomfortable as it might feel at first, we need to put ourselves out there.  Visibility is everything.

Nicola Askham: I believe it will come from women who have made it to the top and refuse to pull the ladder up behind them. The shift I am starting to see is women in leadership who are deliberate and generous about bringing others through, sharing access and using their influence to change the conditions that made their own journey so hard. Communities like Women in Data are accelerating this, connecting senior women with those coming up behind them and turning individual acts of generosity into something systemic. When that becomes the norm rather than the exception, the pace of change will be significant.

Susi Miller: When organizations and communities give access, endorsement and expertise generously, opportunity expands. Giving does not take away. The more we share the more opportunity grows. The confidence, clarity and conviction I gained alongside a real sense of pride and positivity wasn’t confined to the program. That mindset now shapes how I lead, how I mentor and how I create space for other women within my own workplace and networks.

Prianka Jaidka: Education, there is a still a lot of stereotypes of what women in the workplace are capable of, the influence, impact and expertise they bring can often be overlooked. Through education, storytelling and representation real meaningful change will happen.

Lisa Ventura: I believe it will come from the intersection of neurodiversity, mental health and gender. We are only beginning to understand how many women have spent their careers masking, adapting and burning out in environments that were never designed with them in mind. As organizations embrace neuroinclusive cultures and psychological safety frameworks, they will find they are also creating conditions where women can show up more fully, take up more space and lead more authentically.

Mollie Berke: I think it will come from redesigning roles, not just supporting women within broken systems. We need fewer jobs that reward constant availability and more that reward clarity, judgment and impact. As more women reach senior levels, there is an opportunity to reshape what leadership actually looks like. That will benefit everyone.

Christina Garnett: AI is not just changing the way we work, but it's changing what we value as customers and professionals. AI is incredibly powerful, but it's going to struggle to replicate what women have spent lifetimes building. Empathy. Compassion. Emotional intelligence. The innate ability to build a village. These are more than soft skills. They're the skills that hold organizations together, that retain top talent, that build cultures people actually want to work in.

AI can't replace any of that right now. As AI takes over more transactional and analytical tasks, the deeply human capabilities that women often lead with are going to become the most valuable currency in business. The next wave of change will come from organizations finally recognizing and rewarding that, instead of continuing to undervalue it.

Claire Brumby: The next wave will come from redefining leadership. We’re moving at an increasingly fast pace beyond the outdated command and control, hierarchical and patriarchal ‘rulebook’. The future of leadership and workplaces will value emotional intelligence, intuition, collaboration and a real deep dive into all it means to embody a broader and more human model of leadership. When we universally recognized and accepted those traits without prejudice, as strengths rather than the shallow label of ‘soft skills’, women won’t have to adapt to the system and suppress their natural and powerful capabilities.

6. What business practice can be implemented at scale across all industries that will enable women to excel further?

Susan Walsh: It's not even a business practice, but being a good human.  Be inclusive, treating women and, in fact, all people, with courtesy and respect would be a great start. Don't judge a book by its cover. As women we have a lot of experience and knowledge to share; don't be dismissive of it or patronizing (yes, that happens).Being a good human is far from ‘the right thing to do’; instead it gives your organization a competitive advantage.  Having a diverse team will take you further and faster every time.

Sonia Mooney: The greatest power to transform our organizations and amplify business outcomes can often be right there in front of us. High potential isn’t always loud. And raw talent doesn’t always show up in expected ways. Too often, potential is hiding in plain sight, in overlooked people and overlooked places. In individuals who aren’t asking for more, but who have so much more to give.

We need to shift the lens. Look beyond job titles, qualifications or where someone sits on a structure chart. Instead, focus on mindset, curiosity, drive and grit. Seek out talent hidden in unexpected places then nurture, develop and grow.

Nicola Askham: Structured, transparent decision making, particularly around hiring, promotion and pay. Bias thrives in ambiguity and when organizations introduce clear criteria, documented rationale and diverse panels, the playing field levels in ways that feel almost automatic. But underpinning all of it is a willingness to look at the data.

Too many organizations run initiative after initiative without asking whether any of it is actually working. Measuring the impact of gender equality programs with the same rigor as any other business investment will tell you what is making a real difference and what is simply making people feel better. Do more of what works and have the courage to stop what does not.

Susi Miller: When women are supported to thrive, the benefits ripple outward. Networks become more effective and businesses grow stronger. And that’s why when women rise with the backing of others, we all rise.

Prianka Jaidka: Building sponsorship and ally programs that enable women to feel supported, heard and seen. It’s so important that those in senior roles help support the next generation in the workplace.

Lisa Ventura: Inclusive communication and decision-making practices. This means structured meeting formats that prevent the loudest voices from dominating, transparent criteria for promotions and opportunities and an active commitment to seeking out perspectives that would otherwise go unheard.

Leigh Rodriguez: A “knowledge-sharing operating system,” not a hero culture. Cross-functional training, skill sharing and clear playbooks that make success repeatable, so opportunity isn’t gatekept by who knows who. When you standardize access to knowledge and clean up the systems that decide who gets in and who moves up, women don’t only survive work, we excel.

Kasey Harboe Guentert: Low cost, high quality and nearby childcare has been shown to increase participation at work for women. This was illustrated (sadly) exceptionally well during the pandemic, when women disproportionally dropped out of the workplace. Similar to sponsoring healthcare, a practice of sponsoring childcare universally would have a tremendous impact on full participation for women.

Mollie Berke: Structured sponsorship, not just mentorship. Every high potential woman should have a senior leader explicitly accountable for advocating for her in promotion and staffing decisions. It needs to be formal and visible, not informal and personality driven. When access to opportunity is intentional, performance can actually speak for itself.

Christina Garnett: If I can recommend one thing, it's this: build a culture with an abundance mindset. Actively, intentionally, structurally... build it. So much of what holds women back isn't only external barriers; it's the internalized belief that there's only one seat for us.

Katherine Melchior Ray: Government action — specific, enforceable and internationally informed. In my career I've seen how differently policy environments shape women's professional lives: parental leave structures, childcare subsidies, board composition requirements and flexible work norms all interact to either accelerate or stall progress. In 2024, ten European countries have binding gender quotas for corporate boards and the research is clear that stronger mandates with real consequences produce the highest female representation. The US, by contrast, relies largely on voluntary action and market pressure and the results reflect that.

Claire Brumby: Formal sponsorship at executive level. Not just mentoring conversation, but active advocacy in succession planning and promotion decisions. If senior leaders were accountable for sponsoring high-potential women to stretch roles, we’d see a shift. Gender equality is smart leadership.

At Kogan Page we are proud to host Q&As with our authors to garner their insights on topical and important matters effecting industries as scale. Last year’s author Q&A covered accelerating gender equality in the workplace and can be read here.  

We have a wealth of knowledge available on gender equality in the workplace, inspiring workplace action and inclusivity here.