International Women’s Day 2025 – Empowering change in the workplace

International Women’s Day is marked on Saturday 8 March with a theme of “Accelerate Action”. According to the World Economic Forum as things currently stand we are looking at a wait until 2158 to achieve full gender parity – five generations from now. That’s a stark reminder that while progress is being made, there’s still a lot of work to do.

As with previous years, we take this opportunity to reflect on progress that is being made in the workplace and shine a spotlight on the challenges that remain.

Sexual harassment

Despite progress, numerous women continue to face the threat of sexual harassment at work and this is one area that has seen changes this year.

Effective from 26 October 2024, the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 updated the law and now employers are legally obligated to risk assess for potential harassment scenarios and implement preventive strategies. They are also obliged to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment and failing to do so has legal ramifications.

The new requirements also extend to sexual harassment by third parties, such as contractors and this could be extended further under the Government’s Employment Right Bill. Previously, organisations could avoid responsibility if the perpetrator wasn’t an employee. Now, employers have a duty to protect their staff, even if the if harassment is by someone external to the organisation.

Reporting harassment is often daunting, with many fearing retaliation or damage to their careers. These updates will hopefully make employees and employers feel more confident in stamping out sexual harassment at all levels of their organisations.

What’s on the horizon

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives

In the United States we have seen organisations such as Meta and Amazon indicating they will be scaling back their diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. There has already been discussion about whether similar approaches could be taken by UK businesses, although we feel this is unlikely given the embedded nature of the Equality Act 2010 into our workplace policies and processes. It is certainly a trend that we will be keeping a close eye on.

Employment Rights Bill

Anticipated to be fully implemented by 2026, the Government’s Employment Rights Bill includes several areas that could positively impact women’s rights in the workplace including:

• Extended protection from dismissal for women for six months after returning from maternity leave;

• Enhanced flexible working rights including strengthening Day 1 rights; and

• Strengthening equal pay obligations.

How can we help?

As employment lawyers, we see firsthand the challenges women face in the workplace and the vital role legal protections play in driving change. As we celebrate International Women’s Day 2025, the call to “Accelerate Action” is more urgent than ever. Legal reforms are a step forward, but real change requires a cultural shift – where workplaces actively foster equality, and women feel empowered to speak up without fear. Progress is happening, but there’s still a long road ahead. Now is the time for employers, policymakers, and individuals to turn commitments into action and push for a workplace where equality isn’t just a goal, but a given.

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