International Women’s Day: 5 Best Practices for Equity

Companies, HR pros and employees around the world can use International Women’s Day as a catalyst for workplace equity.

The annual recognition day is March 8, but it can be celebrated the entire month. 

The holiday is focused on celebrating the achievements of women and pushing for advancements in women’s rights across the world.

This year’s International Women’s Day theme is “Give to Gain.” It’s meant to raise awareness and promote discussion about equal opportunities in the workplace and beyond. 

International Women’s Day: History of Women at Work

International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month have strong ties to the workplace and workers’ rights. International Women’s Day falls on March 8 every year because female textile workers marched on that day in 1857 to protest unfair working conditions and women’s rights, calling for a shorter workday and decent wages.

On March 8, 1908, marchers again protested child labor and advocated for better sweatshop working conditions and women’s suffrage. In 1910, March 8 was officially declared International Women’s Day.

International Women’s Day: Present

Although women have many of the rights that these protests fought for, there are still inequities in the workplace for women, such as:

• Nearly 60% of women experienced competence-based microaggressions – such as being interrupted or talked over more than others or having their expert judgment questioned — in the workplace in the past year, according to a McKinsey report.
• 43% of women have experienced non-inclusive behaviors in the past year at work, according to a Deloitte report.
• Women only hold 29% of C-suite positions and only 5% are women of color, per the McKinsey report.
• 30% of women say they experience exclusion and lack of predictability and flexibility in their hybrid work plans, per the Deloitte report.
• More than half of working women say their stress levels are higher than they were a year ago, and just 43% feel they get enough mental health support from their employer, per the Deloitte report.
• 31% of women believe they are being paid fairly or equally compared with their colleagues in similar roles, according to a Brightmine report.
• 50% of working women take on the greatest responsibility for childcare, and 57% take on the majority of adult care in their homes, disproportionally impacting their work/life balance, per the Deloitte report.
• It would take about 46 years to narrow the gender pay gap, a PWC report found.
• The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2025 estimates that it will take about 123 years to reach full global gender parity across education, health, economic participation and political empowerment.

Best Practices to Support Equity in the Workplace

With International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month’s focus on embracing equity, HR wants to support women in the workplace by encouraging women to strive for leadership roles and battling burnout.

Workplace equity is about ensuring women have the same opportunities and can make the same career advancements.

Here are five best practices to support women this month and beyond.

1. Bring Female Employees into Leadership Discussions

Research from Hogan Assessments found that men and women in executive roles have similar personality traits linked to leadership effectiveness, challenging long-standing assumptions about who is best suited to lead. 

“When we analyze decades of personality and performance data, we don’t see meaningful differences between men and women on the factors that truly predict leadership success,” said Allison Howell, CEO of Hogan Assessments. “What we do see is that many organizations still rely on outdated ideas of potential that don’t reflect the evidence.” 

The key, according to Hogan Assessment researchers, is exposure. For many women, the challenge is less about readiness and more about access. Early promotion and development decisions are often shaped by informal judgments that quietly influence who is encouraged, supported, and advanced over time, long before leadership roles are formally in sight. 

2. Make Decisions Based on Raw Skills, Talent

There’s a misconception that equity means promoting women as a diversity initiative rather than for their skills. “One of the biggest mistakes we can make in supporting female candidates is promoting them only as a diversity candidate,” says Nidhi Alexander, Chief Marketing Officer at Hexaware Technologies. “We empower high-performing women not just because of their gender, but because of their qualifications and results that they have delivered.” 

3. Involve Women in Policy-Making Decisions

“When [policies] are created only by men, they will not reflect the needs of women or even other genders,” says Alexander. “A diverse workforce allows us to understand employee requirements better and build inclusive policies which allow everyone to thrive.” When white men or other majority groups are the decision-makers, policies mainly benefit those who are making the decisions. By including those in marginalized groups, you can be sure that policies will benefit everyone.”

In fact, Hogan Assessment’s research found that the differences between men and women largely disappear at the executive level. Yet women remained underrepresented at the top because the most significant barriers tend to form earlier in the career journey — during hiring, mid-career promotions, and sponsorship decisions, when subjective judgment often outweighs objective evaluation. 

“Much of the inequality we see at senior levels takes shape well before leadership titles are on the table,” Howell noted. “Those early moments quietly determine who gains visibility, support, and access to leadership-building opportunities.” 

4. Encourage a Healthy Work-Life Balance

As we showed above, the onus of household upkeep and childcare typically falls on women more than men, meaning that work-life balance isn’t as simple as ensuring free time after work. For many women, the “second shift” after work means they are more likely to get burnt out between work and home.

“We see women seeking support for stress and burnout at consistently high rates,” says Dr. Kennette Thigpen Harris, Chief Clinical Officer at Workplace Options. “These are not personal issues — they are workplace realities. Our International Women’s Day Toolkit helps employers respond with evidence-based, compassionate support that reflects how women actually experience work.”  

Consider instituting benefits that will help ease these burdens (for women and men, though), like PTO days for child obligations and flexible scheduling to accommodate childcare needs. 

5. Gather Feedback, Implement Changes Based on Results

You may want to send a survey for International Women’s Day to get a pulse check on how your employees feel. “Companies can utilize anonymous employee feedback channels,” suggests Graham, which may encourage transparency and help find the root issues that are affecting employees.