But when you look up at the top tiers of your organisation, the gap between the number of men and women remains wide. And it’s not for a lack of women-focused initiatives or a dearth of female talent entering your workforce. So why is the needle moving so slowly?
 

This is a conundrum that faces many organisations and which we’ve observed and analysed for the past 10 years. What we’ve discovered – backed by our ground-breaking research, which you can read here – is that many companies are overlooking the fundamentals.

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A key issue is that companies often assume what women want based on generic or outdated insights. They roll out standardised interventions targeting small groups or intervening too late. These well-meaning efforts frequently have little impact, with women feeling the organisation is paying lip service. Even when gender balance seems achieved, women often decide the sacrifice isn’t worth it and choose to leave, leaving progress fragile.

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Adding to the challenge is increasing resistance to women-only initiatives, which complicates efforts to implement effective solutions and slows progress towards the gender balance organisations strive to achieve.