Supporting Women in the Workplace: How to Step Up

With International Women’s Day on March 8th, it’s the perfect time to ask ourselves ‘Are we creating workplaces where women can truly succeed?’

The system isn't built for women to thrive. Studies show that women are consistently passed over for leadership roles, hired at lower rates, and paid less for the same work. In the U.S., women still make only 83 cents for every dollar earned by men. In Europe, the gap sits at 12.7 percent. And as companies quietly roll back their DEI commitments, the burden of creating an equitable workplace falls on us- the people making hiring decisions, leading teams, and speaking up when we see something wrong.

So the real question isn’t just ‘what can you do?’ It’s ‘what will you do?’

The System Isn’t Broken: It’s Built This Way

It’s not an accident. The workplace was designed for men, by men, and unless we actively push back, those barriers stay in place. Change doesn’t happen because we “raise awareness,” it happens when we refuse to accept inequality as the status quo. Stop observing and start disrupting.

Stop Waiting for Bias to Fix Itself

Bias isn’t just a personal failing, it’s baked into the system. Women are still paid less, overlooked for promotions, and judged more harshly when they take up space. You can’t be “neutral” in a system that’s actively unfair. If you hire, promote, or manage people, audit your decisions.

Who gets the stretch projects? Who gets leadership roles? If the same types of people keep getting ahead, it’s worth asking why. Bias isn’t always obvious, but patterns are. The only way to break them is to be intentional about creating opportunities for the people who have been overlooked for too long.

Use Your Influence to Create Change

If you’re in a leadership role, your decisions shape the workplace. Rather than maintaining the way things have always been, take a proactive approach to equity.

There is no shortage of qualified women, but what's often missing is access to the same opportunities and recognition. Push for salary transparency, acknowledge and amplify women’s contributions, and advocate for them in spaces where they aren’t present. And if you don’t have decision-making power, speak up and support the people who do. Change doesn’t happen without action.

Push Back in Real Time

When a woman gets interrupted in a meeting, say, “I want to hear her finish.”

When an idea she just voiced gets repeated by a man, say, “That’s exactly what she said, let’s give her the credit.”

When leadership passes over qualified women, ask why. If you’re in a position to make the decisions, fix it yourself. If you’re not, call it out anyway. A system built to silence women depends on your silence to survive.

Defend Trans Women, In Life and at Work

Trans women, especially trans women of color, face discrimination, workplace harassment, and violence at staggering rates. That’s not just a statistic, that’s a reality that demands action.

• Shut down transphobia in every space you’re in. If someone makes a transphobic remark at work, challenge it. If policies exclude trans employees, demand change.

• Make hiring practices inclusive. Advocate for gender-neutral applications, healthcare policies that cover trans medical care, and company cultures that actively include trans women.

• Call out performative allyship. Slapping a rainbow on a logo means nothing if your workplace is hostile to trans employees. Make sure your organization isn’t just talking about inclusion but actually practicing it.
  

This Fight Doesn’t Stop at the Office Door

The struggle for equality doesn’t start and end in the workplace, it’s tied to everything. The same systems that keep women underpaid and overlooked at work are the ones stripping away reproductive rights, silencing marginalized voices, and keeping power concentrated in the hands of a few.

Fighting for women in the workplace means fighting for them everywhere. It means calling out injustice, voting for policies that protect women’s rights, and refusing to let corporations or lawmakers roll back progress without a fight.

If the system wasn’t built for us, then it’s on us to tear it down and build something better.