Celebrating International Women’s Day 2025: Accelerate Action for a Fairer Workplace
This International Women’s Day, the theme is “Accelerate Action”—a call to move beyond discussions and take meaningful steps toward gender equity. While progress has been made, true workplace fairness won’t happen through equality alone—it requires equity, which ensures that all employees, regardless of their starting point, have the support they need to thrive.
Did you know that Catherine, the founder of Stapleton Consulting, became self-employed in 2016 because genuine part-time mid-level HR roles were nearly impossible to come by? Almost 10 years later, nothing has really changed in Waikato, yet there are so many medium-sized organisations that need valuable employment advice and strategies for the future workplace. Let’s stop the talk and get onto taking action!
On International Women’s Day, we celebrate the progress made toward gender equality while acknowledging the challenges that remain. A key part of this conversation and when identifying how to accelerate action towards achieving a fairer workplace, is understanding the difference between equity and equality—two essential but distinct concepts that shape how people experience the workplace.
If businesses want to create a truly inclusive workplace for all people, they must move beyond one-size-fits-all policies (equality) and embrace tailored support (equity) that helps level the playing field. Let’s explore why both are important and why they can’t be achieved at the same time.
Equality: The Same for Everyone Doesn’t Mean Fair for Everyone
Equality means treating everyone the same—giving each person identical opportunities, resources, and support. It’s the idea behind policies like uniform pay structures or standardised benefits.
For example, imagine a company that provides the same professional development budget to all employees. That sounds fair, right? But not everyone starts from the same place. A new graduate may need different training than a seasoned professional, and an employee from a disadvantaged background might require additional support to access those opportunities.
Another typical example is a company offering the same parental leave to all employees. While this policy is equal, it may not be equitable. If it doesn’t account for the additional caregiving responsibilities women often carry, it might not provide the support women actually need to thrive in their careers.
Why Equality is Important for All:
✔ Ensures equal access to opportunities, preventing discrimination.
✔ It eliminates explicit biases in hiring, promotions, and pay.
✔ It sets a standard for fairness in policies and procedures.
Why Equality Alone is Not Enough:
✖ It can unintentionally favour those who already have advantages
✖ It assumes all employees start from the same place, which isn’t true.
✖ It overlooks historical and societal barriers that disproportionately affect women and other minority groups.
✖ It may unintentionally reinforce gender gaps, especially in leadership.
Equity: Meeting People Where They Are
Equity acknowledges that different people need different levels of support to reach the same goal. It’s about providing individualised resources so everyone has a fair chance of success.
Equity recognises that women often face unique barriers in the workplace, from pay gaps to underrepresentation in leadership and disproportionate caregiving responsibilities. Instead of giving every employee the same support, equity provides tailored support to help women overcome these challenges.
For example, rather than offering the same mentorship opportunities to all employees, an equitable company might create leadership programs specifically for women to help them break into senior roles that remain male-dominated. Alternatively, the company could provide language support for non-native speakers.
Did you know that in 2018, Sport NZ introduced a quota for gender representation on the boards of over 60 of the funded sports organisations? They also supported this by providing a governance development program and other networking initiatives to grow governance capability for these directors. You only have to look at the medal tally from the previous Olympics to see that this could be contributing to Aotearoa’s continued success on the world stage.
The Strength of Equity:
✔ Acknowledges and addresses systemic barriers
✔ Promotes diversity, inclusion and belonging rather than compliance
✔ Creates a more level playing field through targeted support
The Challenges of Equity:
✖ Can be seen as “unfair” by those who don’t receive extra support
✖ Requires more effort and customisation from employers
✖ Requires companies to identify and address disparities proactively.
Why Equity and Equality Can’t Be Achieved Simultaneously
Equality and equity are both critical, but they can’t exist in full force at the same time.
If you treat everyone equally, you risk overlooking individual needs. If you focus only on equity, some may feel they are being treated unfairly. This creates a constant balancing act for workplaces.
Think of it like climbing a mountain:
- Equality gives everyone the same climbing equipment and shoes.
- Equity recognises that some climbers may need a head start or specialised gear to compete fairly.
Here’s a thought that could bring it more to life for you. For those who may have children or pets, do you always treat them the same, or do you consider their individual needs when you decide to support them? It is a balancing act, right?
A workplace that prioritises equality may enforce the same policies for all, but this can reinforce existing disparities. A workplace that focuses only on equity may struggle to maintain uniformity in policies and face pushback from those who feel left out.
Taking Action and Finding the Right Balance for a Thriving Workplace for All
Workplaces should aim to take real action by blending equality and equity, ensuring that fairness does not come at the cost of inclusivity. Here’s how:
- Use Equality for Universal Policies—Apply fairness and transparency in pay scales, benefits, codes of conduct, andanti-discrimination policies.
- Apply Equity Where Needed – Support employees differently based on their challenges – for example flexible working hours or working from home for caregivers, mentorship for underrepresented groups, or return to work programs after parental leave
- Communicate Clearly – Employees must understand why certain accommodations are made to avoid resentment.
- Data-Driven Decision Making – Track and measure diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts to ensure progress.
- Education and Awareness – Train employees on unconscious bias and inclusive leadership.
- Review and Adapt – Regularly assess whether policies are truly fair and effective.
By understanding the difference between equality and equity, companies can create a workplace that is both fair and inclusive, helping all employees reach their full potential. This is all about being a good human to others, and it will add value to your bottom line through productivity gains and the calibre of talent you attract.
For This International Women’s Day, Let’s Move Beyond Words to Action
This year’s theme, “Accelerate Action,” reminds us that change won’t happen by itself. We must take bold steps to ensure that our workplaces are not just equal but also equitable—where women and all employees have the tools, support, and opportunities they need to succeed. This is so much more than giving women a seat at the table. It means removing the barriers that have kept them out for so long.
Equality alone won’t get us there. Equity is the bridge that ensures every woman, no matter her starting point, has the opportunity to succeed.
The time for talk is over. The time for action is now.
