A new IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) study reveals that gender equity is still not a top priority for 70 percent of global businesses. The global study “Women, leadership, and missed opportunities,” which follows similar research published in 2019, also shows that gender equity may be at a crossroads, with the leadership pipeline for women shrinking.

“The data shows that many women leaders are experiencing challenges at this moment. If these issues are not addressed more deeply than in prior years, there is a risk of progress backsliding further. We should seize creative solutions now and redouble our efforts to make meaningful, lasting change that can help all women reach their full potential,” said IBM SVP for Global Markets and senior executive sponsor of the IBM Women’s Community Bridget van Kralingen in a press statement.

Choose to challenge

IBM released the study today, March 8, which is International Women’s Day. This year’s campaign theme is #ChooseToChallenge.

“A challenged world is an alert world. Individually, we’re all responsible for our own thoughts and actions — all day, every day.

“We can all choose to challenge and call out gender bias and inequality. We can all choose to seek out and celebrate women’s achievements. Collectively, we can all help create an inclusive world.

“From challenge comes change, so let’s all choose to challenge.”

In her foreword to the study, Van Kralingen said: “Though it is my hope that in the future we will not need designated days to raise awareness about the importance of women in the workforce. Rather, they will represent moments to celebrate women’s achievements.”

The IBV study indicates employees surveyed feel fatigue and waning optimism over ineffective programmatic efforts to address gender equity. Only 62% of women surveyed (down 9 percentage points from 2019) and 60% of men surveyed (down 7 percentage points from 2019) expect their organization will significantly improve gender parity over the next five years.

The study notes that more organizations are instituting more programs to help improve gender equity and inclusion compared to 2019, like gender-blind job screenings and parental leave for women. However, the study suggests that has not translated to better outcomes in part because mindsets and cultures have not changed enough alongside the programs.

Roadmap for sustainable progress

Here are specific, bold steps organizations can take to help accelerate progress in gender equity in the workplace, according to the IBV study.

• Pair bold thinking with big commitments. For example, make gender equity a top five formal business priority, and create pathways for women to re-enter the workforce. IBM offers a six-month paid “returnship” for technical professionals who have been out of the workforce for 12 months, which provides training, access to tools and technology, mentorship and work assignments on technical projects that are matched to their expertise.
• Apply specific crisis-related interventions. For example, additional benefits like backup childcare support and access to mental health resources can be key. Other recent IBV research found that the best performing CEOs say they are committed to supporting the well-being of their employees, even at the cost of profitability or budget.
• Create a culture of intention, and insist on making room. Focus on empathetic leadership and enabling middle managers to be advocates for positive cultural change. People leaders can intentionally champion inclusive team cultures, with flexibility aligned to individuals’ personal and professional needs, and set accountability into business and individual goals to sponsor the future pipeline of women leaders.
• Use technology to accelerate performance. Organizations can use technologies like AI to help reduce bias in the candidate screening process, provide cloud-based digital tools for communication and feedback to surface what’s working and what’s not in supporting women in the workplace, and invest in collaborative tools and teaming practices that allow women and men to engage effectively in physical and remote environments even after the pandemic abates.