As organisations publicly commit to building more gender-diverse workforces in corporate America, progress has stalled. According to Pew Research Center, women in the US typically earn 82¢ for every dollar earned by men – no significant increase from 20 years ago. And in the UK figures released through the government’s gender pay gap reporting mechanism shows that for every £1 earned by a man, women earn 90p. Elsewhere the unaffordable cost of childcare is forcing women out of work with many giving up their jobs and not returning to the workforce. A study by the Center for Global Development found that women took on 173 additional hours of unpaid childcare during the height of the pandemic, contributing to them losing an estimated $800 billion in income during 2020.
But with discussions around women's rights dominating wider culture, people are coming together to champion a fairer society that keeps women's needs in mind – and brands, businesses, and entire countries are taking note. Spain has banned catcalling and has become the first European country to offer paid menstrual leave, period products are now offered for free in Scotland, and in the US, breastfeeding mothers have more workplace protections while men's and women's soccer teams will be paid equally. As the future of women's rights comes into sharper focus, helping them to thrive in the workplace through support and flexibility can close the gender pay gap and build more equitable workforces.