As businesses evolve, so do the challenges they face. What worked before may no longer be effective, and companies must adjust to stay competitive. One area where this is particularly evident is gender equality in the workplace. While progress has been made, the reality is that significant barriers persist.

International Women’s Day is more than just a celebration, it’s a call to action. True transformation requires more than good intentions, it demands bold leadership, strategic commitment, and systemic change. Organisations that will lead in the future are those that take decisive steps today to create real opportunities for women, invest in leadership development, and commit to continuous improvement. The journey to becoming a market leader begins with intentional action. A gender-inclusive workplace isn’t built on policies alone, it’s shaped by the daily decisions, behaviours, and culture that bring those policies to life.

This guide outlines the essential steps to Accelerate Action in 2025, helping businesses forge real, lasting change. Follow the steps to transform your organisation into a more inclusive, gender-equal environment where both women and men can thrive. Now is the time to move beyond discussion and accelerate the actions that will define the future of workplace equality. The journey to becoming a market leader starts with intentional action.

The question is: will your organisation step up?

Step 1: Acknowledge the Reality

Gender equality isn’t just an ethical obligation, it's critical to being a market leader. Companies with diverse leadership outperform their competitors by 25% (McKinsey, 2024). Yet, the reality is that outdated structures, disengaged teams, and leadership bottlenecks continue to limit growth.

Women hold just 9% of CEO positions in ASX300 companies, and men dominate over 60.8% of managerial roles (Gender Equality Australia, 2024). In Australia, the gender pay gap persists, ranging from 8.4% to 26.5%, with women earning an average of $28,425 less annually than their male counterparts (WGEA, 2024).

For businesses to lead in today’s market, they must acknowledge and tackle the systemic barriers that hinder women’s advancement. The consequences of failing to take real action include:

Losing key talent: Women are leaving industries that lack equitable opportunities for advancement.
Frustrated teams: Disengaged employees will not drive business goals.
Reduced profitability: Companies with diverse leadership consistently outperform those with less diversity.

In 2024, the gender gap in hours worked narrowed to 16.2%, but challenges remain, especially when it comes to equitable promotions (Ai Group, 2024). High-performing organisations already have structured leadership programs, people-first transformation strategies, and inclusive decision-making in place. These are the companies that are shaping the future. Systemic change is key.

Step 2: Assess Your Organisation's Current State

Before implementing meaningful change, organisations must take an honest look at their current gender equality landscape. A data-driven assessment will identify gaps, highlight biases, and provide a clear roadmap for improvement.

Key Questions to Evaluate Your Organisation

Leadership Representation: What percentage of leadership roles are held by women? Are there barriers preventing their advancement?
Pay Equity: Conduct a gender pay gap analysis. How do salaries compare across roles and levels?
Career Progression: Are women equally considered for promotions and leadership training?
Workplace Culture: Do employees feel included, valued, and supported regardless of gender?
Policies & Accountability: Are there clear DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) strategies in place? Is leadership actively involved in enforcing them?

After answering these questions, conduct an internal gender audit. Analyse leadership demographics, pay structures, and promotion data. Ensure employee engagement by surveying staff on workplace culture, inclusion, and career development. Benchmark your organisation’s performance against industry leaders to identify areas for improvement.

Step 3: Address Unconscious Bias

Unconscious bias isn’t just an HR buzzword, it’s a hidden force that influences who gets hired, promoted, or even invited into key conversations. Left unchecked, it creates a work environment where talent is overlooked, and leadership remains homogenous. The good news? Bias isn’t permanent. It can be unlearned.

Start dismantling your organisations biases today:

Encourage every member of your leadership teams to take our Free Emotional Intelligence Quiz and together begin to reflect and tune into behaviours, emotions and actions.
Encourage Open Communication: Create an environment where all voices are heard, not just the loudest ones.
Provide Bias Training: Equip hiring managers and leadership teams with practical tools to recognise and counteract bias in decision-making.

Bias training is a start, but real change happens when leaders actively challenge outdated ways of thinking.

Step 4: Shift the Mindsets

Recognising bias isn’t enough. If companies truly want to lead with purpose and innovation, they need leaders who do more than acknowledge diversity, they need leaders who champion it.

How to Cultivate an Inclusive Leadership Mindset

Expand Leadership Perspectives: See diversity as an advantage, not an HR requirement.
Empower Underrepresented Talent: Move beyond passive inclusion. Mentor. Sponsor. Elevate.
Integrate Diversity into Business Strategy: If inclusivity isn’t part of decision-making, it’s not a priority.

Companies that embed diversity into leadership see measurable improvements in innovation, employee engagement, and profitability (McKinsey, 2024). Shifting mindsets is one thing… equipping leaders with the right skills to drive change is the next step.

Step 5: Develop the Right Skills

Developing the right skills within your teams is fundamental in fostering an environment where everyone has the chance to lead, regardless of gender. Building leadership starts with cultivating essential skills that align with gender equity, particularly in the areas of communication, empathy, and emotional intelligence.

Develop Emotional Intelligence
Emotional Intelligence (EI) and empathy are fundamental for effective leadership and team cohesion. Leaders with high EI understand and manage their own emotions while recognising and influencing the emotions of others. EI is a skill that can be cultivated and refined through practice and dedication. This skill set is crucial for handling conflicts, communicating effectively, and building strong relationships within the team. Check out our Practical Guide to enhance the 5 key skills of EI: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship management & empathy.
Develop Strong Communication Skills
Effective communication is the cornerstone of any successful organisation, but it’s even more critical in teams striving for gender equity. Clear messaging, active listening, and constructive feedback are vital for reducing misunderstandings, building trust, and fostering collaboration across all levels.
- Active Listening
  Fully engage with your team, reflect on their words, and respond thoughtfully. Leaders who practice active listening create a safe space for team members to be heard, which is key in developing gender-inclusive leadership. Show empathy and understanding, creating an environment where all voices can be heard.
- Ask Effective Questions
  Asking the right questions encourages critical thinking, innovation, and dialogue - all crucial for gender equity and driving change. Use open-ended, probing, and clarifying questions to foster a culture of understanding and to promote discussions that lead to better decision-making. Remember to confirm your understanding by paraphrasing key points and summarising discussions.
- Develop Mutual Understanding
  Creating an inclusive leadership environment requires mutual understanding, a sense that all team members, regardless of gender, are aligned in their goals and values. By engaging in team-building exercises and creating opportunities for dialogue, you can significantly reduce conflict and strengthen relationships within your team.

Developing skills is great, but behavioural change is what brings it all to life.

Step 6: Shift the Behaviours

A mindset shift means nothing if behaviours stay the same. If leaders aren’t actively modelling inclusive practices, diversity initiatives will remain stuck at the surface level. The key question remains, who is going to lead this change?

It’s time for YOU to take action. “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” - Mahatma Gandhi.

Without leaders embodying change, initiatives will falter. It’s not enough to simply endorse the idea of change, they must be the ones who embody the change, creating an environment where inclusion becomes the norm, not the exception. There are three core skills of change leadership to master:

Unite the Team: Build alignment and ensure all stakeholders are on board.
Lead the Process: Create a clear roadmap for sustainable change.
Lead the People: Support individuals through resistance, setbacks, and growth.

Changing behaviours creates space for diverse leadership to thrive. Now, it’s time to ensure that women have a seat at the table.

Step 7: Embrace Representation

Let’s talk numbers…

Women hold only 9% of CEO roles in ASX300 companies.
54.2% of Australian workers are in gender-segregated industries.
The gender pay gap ranges from 8.4% to 26.5%. (Sources: Gender Equality Australia, 2024)

These numbers don’t just reflect historical bias, they reflect today’s systemic barriers. Real commitment to gender equity is reflected in concrete actions and accountability. Leaders must establish clear, measurable goals for their teams, moving beyond vague statements like “we support women” to actionable targets that can be tracked and evaluated.

Sponsorship should replace mentorship, it’s not enough to simply advise women, leaders must actively advocate for their advancement, providing opportunities and visibility. Additionally, equitable hiring and promotion practices must be enforced, eliminating the outdated excuse of “culture fit.” It’s about prioritising skills and potential over stereotypes, ensuring that all individuals, regardless of gender, have an equal chance to succeed and rise within the organisation.

Step 8: Turn Strategy into Action

At this point, we’ve covered bias, mindset, skills, behaviour, and representation, but the real work happens when companies turn these insights into daily business practices.

Here’s how your organisation can make gender equity a business priority:

Align Policies & Leadership with Equity Goals: No more “nice to have” initiatives. Equity must be a business objective.
Make Leadership Accessible: Women shouldn’t have to fight for a seat at the table. Organizations must build the table with them in mind.
Retain Top Talent: It’s not just about hiring more women, it’s about keeping them.
Close Gender Skill Gaps: Ensure all employees have access to high-growth sectors and emerging technologies.
Fix the Pay and Promotion Pipeline: Align salaries and leadership opportunities with talent.

The WGEA’s move to publicly report gender pay gaps forces businesses to follow through or face reputational damage (McKinsey, 2024). Companies that commit to gender equity don’t just “keep up” with industry standards, they set them!

Conclusion

As we look toward the future, the urgency for real change in gender equality within the workplace cannot be overstated. The businesses that thrive will be those that not only recognise the barriers women face but also take bold, actionable steps to dismantle them. The journey to becoming a market leader in today’s competitive world begins with intentional action and creating environments where all genders have the same opportunities to succeed and advance.

The question now is: will your organisation step up and take the lead in shaping a future where gender equality isn’t just an aspiration, but a reality? The time for change is now. It starts with your actions, will you rise to the challenge and make the change that will redefine the workplace of tomorrow?

Looking for a Program to Empower Your Workforce?

At Leading Edge, it’s our mission to help organisations overcome gender equity challenges and empower leaders and teams. Check out our Outcomes-Based Leadership Programs or book a call with us. Our programs are all about elevating leadership capabilities and driving better outcomes for our organisation. Let’s empower people to drive better outcomes and create a positive, inclusive work environment.

Looking for a Program to Empower Your Women?

Leading Women has been designed for women who are looking to take the next step in their career towards a Senior Leadership position. We provide a safe environment where we provide practical tips as well as a space to share challenges and solve them as a group.

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References

McKinsey & Company. (2024). Women in the Workplace: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Corporate World. McKinsey & Company. Retrieved from https://www.mckinsey.com
Gender Equality Australia. (2024). Gender Representation in ASX300 Companies: Current Statistics. Gender Equality Australia. Retrieved from https://www.genderequality.org.au
Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA). (2024). The Gender Pay Gap in Australia. Workplace Gender Equality Agency. Retrieved from https://www.wgea.gov.au
Australian Industry Group (Ai Group). (2024). Gender Gap in Hours Worked: An Analysis of the Australian Workforce. Australian Industry Group. Retrieved from https://www.aigroup.com.au

Accelerating Action in 2025: A Guide to Forging Gender Equality for an Inclusive World