A day to celebrate all the achievements of women across the world. We must recognise those who inspire us, past and present and the current challenges that still hold women back in society and in the workplace

This year the theme is #EmbraceEquity, raising the important conversation about equality and equity. Equity isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s a must-have and has to be embedded into society’s very DNA.

#EmbraceEquity is about highlighting that talking about equal opportunities is no longer enough. People come from and are raised in different circumstances therefore effective inclusion and diversity policies requires equitable implementation and action/

Celebrate International Women’s Day: what employers can do

Let 2023 be the year that workplaces fully support the needs of women and their families. It’s very easy to say that we support women’s rights and uphold inclusivity standards in the workplace but there are many ways that employers can go further than words.

• Commit to pay equity
• Commit to pay transparency during the application process as well as in the role
• Normalise flexibility
• Foster mentorship and career development initiatives
• Empower and encourage your aspiring female leaders.

Celebrate this International Women’s Day by implementing these simple strategies above. Proactively strategising on ways to bolster women in the workplace will help improve your company’s efforts to hire, retain, and promote women thus supporting the economy and overall health of society.

Motherhood penalty

Under current pay trends, the gender pay gap between men and women will not close until 2044 in the UK, with older women being the worst affected by this.

PwC found that the gender pay gap widened four times faster in the UK in 2021 than the average across the OECD, primarily because of the specific disadvantages faced by women with children. The UK has some of the highest costs for childcare around the world and coupled with the cost of living crisis, it is pushing mainly women out of work.

The Women in Work Index 2023 published by PwC suggested that an effective Equal Paid Parental Leave system in the UK would benefit women, as well as men, families, wider society, and employers. 

Equal Paid Parental Leave is a leave policy that entitles each parent to a period of (adequately) paid leave from employment when a child arrives.

The analysis also showed that if fathers took more parental leave, there would be sizable and long-term benefits for women, families and society in the UK.

Larice Stielow, senior economist, PwC UK said:

“An 18 year old woman entering the workforce today will not see pay equality in her working lifetime. At the rate the gender pay gap is closing, it will take more than 50 years to reach gender pay parity. If the rebound from Covid-19 has taught us anything, it is that we can’t rely on economic growth alone to produce gender equality – unless we want to wait another 50 years or more. We must design and develop policy solutions that actively address the underlying causes of the inequality that exist today.”

Mothers also earned less than women of the same age without children. The same study found mothers employed full-time in the UK earned 7% less than women in full-time employment with similar backgrounds who did not have children by the age of 42.38.

PwC also highlighted that the motherhood penalty not only impacts women in work today, but is also transferred to women of future generations. A 2019 study based in Denmark found women whose mothers worked significantly fewer hours than their fathers faced larger motherhood penalties themselves, in the form of lower earnings after having children – compared to women whose mothers and fathers worked similar hours.