“There is no limit to what we, as women can accomplish” - Michelle Obama
International Women’s Day (IWD), celebrated annually on the 8th March, is a global day recognising the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.
It also serves as a stark reminder of the progress that still needs to be made towards gender equality.
Established in the early 1900s, IWD has now evolved into a movement that unites individuals, organisations and businesses to advocate for increased inclusivity.
The significance of IWD extends beyond celebration and yearly social media posts. It serves to highlight the ongoing challenges that women still face, from workplace inequality to underrepresentation in senior leadership roles. While progress should be moving forward, gender disparities still persist, requiring collective action from businesses, policymakers and communities worldwide to draw awareness to these issues.
International Women’s Day 2025: Accelerating Action for Gender Equality
This year’s theme for IWD is ‘Accelerate Action’, which reinforces the urgency of driving gender equality forward collectively. Achieving lasting change requires more than just awareness, it demands decisive efforts to remove systemic barriers, challenge biases and create equal opportunities for all.
At Community Partners, community driven change is in our DNA. Meaningful progress happens when businesses and networks come together to share knowledge, be disruptive and implement solutions that support women’s success.
The Business Imperative for Gender Equality
Diversity isn’t just about fairness or ticking boxes, it has been proven to be a competitive advantage. Studies show that companies with gender-diverse leadership benefit from stronger financial performance, make better decisions and have a more engaged workforce (McKinsey & Company, 2020)
Disappointingly, the reality remains that women are still underrepresented at senior levels in many key industries and progress over the last decade has somewhat stagnated.
So how do we move away from an all male boardroom?
1. Make Diversity a Business Priority
Diversity is a strategic advantage. Use data-driven insights to demonstrate how gender-diverse boards improve profitability, risk management and innovation. Set clear targets and make diversity part of executive KPIs and board evaluations.
Disappointingly women today still only make up 29% of C-suite positions.
2. Fix the Appointment Process
Executive level recruitment often relies on closed networks, limiting opportunities for diverse talent.
Mandate diverse shortlists, utilise disrupters like Community Partners and revise criteria to focus on skills beyond traditional C-Suite level experience.
Companies also need to focus on what appears to be a ‘broken rung’ in the corporate ladder. Men significantly outnumber women in management level positions, making it incredibly difficult for many companies to support sustained progress.
3. Build an Inclusive Leadership Pipeline
Accelerate change by actively sponsoring high-potential female leaders, integrating executive coaching and board exposure programs and embed unconscious bias training into leadership development.
4. Leverage Market and Governance Pressures
Investors and governance bodies are pushing for change. Companies that fail to act risk reputational and financial consequences. Use sustainability and governance reports to track progress, engage with institutional investors and commit to a 3–5 year transformation roadmap.
5. Commit to Long-Term Change
While IWD provides a powerful platform for recognition, lasting change requires year-round commitment, not just an annual LinkedIn post. Businesses must go back to prioritising fair hiring and promotion policies addressing weak spots in their pipelines to eliminate gender bias. More resource investment needs to be focussed on developing female leaders, whilst supporting equal pay initiatives to close wage gaps.
The Power of Community in Driving Change
International Women’s Day serves as a reminder that gender parity is not just an aspiration, it is a necessity for business success and societal progress. Whilst progress has been made, deep systemic changes are still required, which is hard to achieve and follows a far from linear path.
The next phase of change requires accelerated action, as well as even more tenacity, optimism and creativity than ever.
At Community Partners we feel that by harnessing the power of network and community via business collaboration and global networking, we can harness our collective strength to drive social change.
This year we’d like to pay special thanks to all the phenomenal partners and associates that make us what we are, especially those who have tenaciously pushed forward through recently challenging market conditions.
We are celebrating you on International Women’s Day 2025!