International Women’s Day matters, but only as a marker on a longer road. Progress on equality is built by everyday decisions — who gets hired, who progresses, how work and culture is defined, and whose potential is recognised.
As business leaders, it’s our responsibility to ensure equal opportunities for women at all stages of their careers, and for women to be represented in all areas of our work and cultures.
In the UK, a key pressure point is parenthood: three years following birth, around 90% of new fathers are in full‑time work or self‑employed. Fewer than one in five new mothers were still in full-time work three to five years after maternity leave. Many switch to part‑time or exit work entirely, which locks in lower pay and slower progression for years. ONS analysis found that five years after a first child, mothers’ average monthly earnings are 42% lower than before birth.
Later in their careers, menopause can be a point of attrition. One in ten women who worked during the menopause have left a job because of their symptoms. A further 17% of women aged 40 – 60 say they’ve considered leaving work due to a lack of support — 6% say they already have.
These figures make it clear that there’s more work to do. Change is possible, and across our real estate industry and FTSE 100 peers, it’s already happening. More women are reaching and thriving in senior roles. More businesses are creating talent programmes to support women and people from underrepresented backgrounds. Conversations about flexibility, progression and women’s health are more open. This change is right for women, and good for business.
I lead the people agenda at Landsec, a FTSE 100 business that shapes workplaces, retail destinations and communities across the UK. Our sector creates the places where life happens. Three in five visitors to our retail destinations are women. Roughly 20% of the UK population is disabled, yet nearly 80% of disabled people find it difficult to access shops or shopping centres. If we’re shaping places characterised by diversity, we need that diversity reflected in our teams too. If we better understand who we’re creating places for, the more valuable and successful they’ll be.
Progress that benefits people and business accelerates when leaders treat inclusion as how the organisation is built. We can see the impact of this at Landsec. We’ve been in the top 20 of the FTSE Women Leaders Review for three years, and we continue to learn from others driving change so we, too, can go further.
In my experience, there’s three areas that matter most.
First: make hiring and progression as structured as any other business‑critical decision. That means clear role criteria, evidence‑led assessment and interviews. To eliminate bias, it requires transparency on how hiring decisions are made.
We must open the door wider. At Landsec, for manager-level roles and above, we use diverse shortlist targets to ensure we’re considering people from the widest pool possible. 90% of our hires at these levels have been recruited from diverse shortlists, helping us diversify our thoughts, experience and better our appeal to the next generation of talent. Our approach is to ‘widen the gate, not lower the bar’.
Second: build communities that drive confidence, connection and visibility. This could be women’s networks or peer-led groups, that must be outwardly supported by senior influencers in the business. Our Landsec Women affinity network has recently launched Lean In Circles — peer‑led groups that unite women at various stages of their career to learn from and support one another.
Third: we must protect women’s careers through all life’s stages. This includes making it easier for parents and carers to balance work and family, and supporting women’s health.
Alongside partner and shared parental leave, we support people to stay connected and return to work with confidence — including a phased return (80% hours on 100% pay for six months). We partner with Peppy, which supports pregnancy, parenthood, fertility and menopause. And we encourage open conversations about caring responsibilities to normalise flexibility and ensure careers aren’t held back.
International Women’s Day is a helpful reflection point on progress made, and a reminder of the barriers that still exist. We must continue to challenge how we work and listen to what’s needed next to ensure all women can have a fulfilling career, like I have been lucky enough to enjoy. To me, that’s a non-negotiable.