How company culture can be a catalyst for gender balance

Burnout. Talent loss. Low morale. Stifled innovation. That’s the potential cost of gender imbalance to businesses and their operations. Inequality in the workplace is a constant challenge, and is something that organisations cannot afford to ignore.

International Women’s Day 2026 falls this Sunday, 8th March, under the theme of “Give to Gain”. It encourages women to support and lift up other women around them, which will ultimately benefit everyone. It’s an interesting phrase, as women already give so much. Having spent two decades in roles spanning professional services, technology, payroll, and people-focused leadership, I have seen first-hand the exceptional work ethic, sense of responsibility and accountability, and high levels of productivity among women in the workplace.

With this in mind, why is it so difficult for women to be compensated and rewarded fairly? I believe the problems truly begin in the workplace. My overarching experience of school and college was a sense that women and girls could do anything and be anything that they wanted. There’s a certain confidence (or, naivety?) that comes with youth, before the real-world challenges that many of us face on a daily basis begin to set in.

So, how do we ensure that this confidence remains past education and carries right through to the workplace? It starts with company culture. Women need to be able to see structured plans for progression, clear promotion paths, support to “return to succeed” after periods of leave, and have access to continued coaching and mentoring.

Women are also more likely to downplay their work achievements, often driven by a lack of confidence and the belief that they’re just doing “enough” rather than “excellently”. That’s why active encouragement is paramount. It reinforces the idea that visibility matters - “if she can’t see it, she can’t be it”. Female representation across all functions, and particularly at senior management levels, is key and we champion this at SD Worx Ireland. Almost half of our leadership team are women and, of all managers in Ireland, 75% are women. In total, women make up 63% of our Irish workforce.

Organisations need to support women to realise their potential, worth, and value and, therefore, enable them to lead by example. Setting the culture comes from leadership and authenticity, transparency, openness, praise, recognition, and motivation are crucial.

Gender pay gaps are a reality in 2026 and, no matter how big or small the gaps, they send the same message: that a woman’s value in the workplace is somehow less than.

Why do gender pay gaps even exist? Adjusted gender pay gap calculations show it predominantly comes down to the fact that many women take time away from the workplace – whether it’s maternity leave or career breaks to handle childcare or other family responsibilities – otherwise known as the motherhood penalty. This has a knock-on effect for their career progression as their male counterparts, who typically do not take the same level of leave, continue to benefit from training and experience, which is reflected in their pay and advancement.

Women make sacrifices, and research shows that they often lose their confidence in the process – returning from extended leave feeling they cannot perform to the same standard, with heightened self-doubt, or, even more worryingly, that they’re worthy of inferior roles.

How do we change this? [Mo4] In Scandinavian countries, most governments have implemented processes which create more equal parental leave entitlements for both women and men. However, while take-up among men has grown substantially, it still falls short of equal usage with women. There’s no silver bullet but consistent, manageable steps such as conducting regular pay audits, increasing pay transparency, and standardising promotion criteria can help to reduce disparities over time.

Gender Pay Gap reporting introduced in Ireland in 2022 has increased visibility and accountability, but reporting alone does not close gaps. The forthcoming EU Pay Transparency Directive will go further, requiring greater clarity around salary scales, progression criteria, and pay comparisons, and introducing more structured reporting obligations from 2027. It moves the conversation from disclosure to action.

There is still a huge amount of work to be done across the board before we start seeing meaningful change when it comes to gender imbalance. It will take a concerted effort from business leaders to inspire this change and create an inclusive and equitable environment for all employees. After all, a rising tide lifts all boats.

This article was first published on LinkedIn as an article republished here with permission.