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 “Accelerate Action” for gender equality. 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 60 years to narrow the gender pay gap, a PWC report found.
• It would take about 50 years to achieve gender parity for all women, per the McKinsey report.

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 battling burnout and encouraging women to strive for leadership roles.

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

“By encouraging more young women to set their sights on top positions, we are sending a positive message to the next generation to pursue their interests and dreams fearlessly,” says Nidhi Alexander, Chief Marketing Officer at Hexaware Technologies.

However, just bringing them into the room isn’t enough. True equity also includes helping women develop the necessary skills to advance their careers. “Developing and encouraging the skills and career progression of female professionals is integral in empowering women to take on leadership roles,” says Meredith Graham, CPO at Ensono.

2. Make Decisions Based on Raw Skills, Talent

There’s a misconception that equity means promoting women as a diversity initiative rather than for her skills. “One of the biggest mistakes we can make in supporting female candidates is promoting them only as a diversity candidate,” says Alexander. “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, it 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.”

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. 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.