Embrace Equity: International Women’s Day 2023 and Beyond

International Women’s Day (IWD) exists to celebrate the achievements of women in all areas of society including Women At Work. This years’ theme is embrace equity.  

Equity is based on the principle that we all start our journeys from different places so true inclusion requires providing individuals the resources or opportunities that they need to succeed, rather than giving everyone the same opportunity (Equality).  

Embrace Equity: The Challenges

Before we can consider the opportunities for equity, we first need to acknowledge the challenges. One such challenge, which is well-documented, is the Gender Pay Gap. 

The Gender pay gap 2022 in NI highlighted the following: 

• Employment rates for women are consistently lower than males over the past 10 years – approximately 60 per cent of employed women with dependent children worked full-time, compared to 94 per cent of employed males with dependent children. 
• Women who are working are less likely to be self-employed and are more likely to be working part-time than men. 

Similar challenges are found across the border. In the Republic of Ireland, the December 2022 pay gap report stated: 

• The average proportion of females in the workforce is 45%. The ratio of females to males tends to be lowest in the engineering, construction, manufacturing, and technology sectors. Conversely, the healthcare and retail sectors have a much higher ratio of females to males. 

• 75% of companies have a higher proportion of males in their highest paid quartile.  
• Bonus pay gaps was reported with a gap of 22.9% reflecting the representation of males in more senior roles, contributing to higher paid bonuses.  

While Equality is our goal, equitable action is what we need to get there.  

How might employers start to embrace equity? 

• Marking International Women’s Day – An easy first step is to mark IWD 2023. There is no right or wrong way to mark IWD. Whether it’s a coffee morning, donation to a women’s charity, or even an awareness email, a simple act of recognition can make a big impact if communicated well with your employees. 
• Be considerate of gender issues all year round – Share different perspectives where you can and offer support to the women in your organisation. This could be through a mentorship programme or a ‘have a go’ day for traditionally ‘male’ roles e.g. in construction or transport sectors. 
• Involve everyone – Women’s events are sometimes exclusive to women, but most aren’t! Encourage men in your organisation to get involved in initiatives which support your female employees. 
• Review your policies, pay and benefits, considering gender issues – What can you do to improve gender balance in your organisation, including at leadership level? Consider if and how your recruitment and selection processes might alienate women and work to minimise this? When it comes to benefits, a one-size-fits-all approach might not work for everyone. For example, ensure parental leave allowance consider both maternity and paternity allowances. 
• Provide employees a space to share their ideas – If you have an IWD event, Women’s networking event, or engagement survey provide your employees with a space to feedback on your culture and employee initiatives and their impact on women. 

How Think People Can Help  

Think People can offer bespoke advice on all aspects of employee policies, initiatives and welfare, and can provide training to your managers on recruitment best practice, dignity at work and more. Some of the Think People team will also be attending the IoD Womens Leadership Conference on Friday 10th March in Dublin. If you have any questions, make sure to pop over and speak to a member of our team, we’d be delighted to have a chat!

For more information, please contact us at enquiries@thinkpeople.co.uk or by calling 02890 310450 (ROI – 00353 1969 7865).