Gender equality in the workplace: from good intentions to concrete behavior

Inspiration

Magdelijn Emaus

Director

Magdelijn has over 15 years of experience in mobilizing people, ranging from the adoption of technology solutions to change strategy and the execution of culture and behavior change. Her organizational sensitivity is a key success factor when achieving change objectives becomes challenging. She connects easily with people at all levels of the organization and draws energy from helping them step into their strengths. Magdelijn is driven to apply her broad experience to socially relevant themes, such as the energy transition and the creation of psychologically safe work environments.

Mayra Hesselink

Director

Mayra is driven by improvements that genuinely help people move forward. With years of experience in transformations across strategy, data, and process improvement, and a background both as a consultant and at executive and board level, she brings this combined perspective to developing sustainable solutions. She translates complex challenges into executable plans with clear ownership, ensuring that change not only works on paper but also takes hold in practice.

May 4, 2026

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“Gender equality is not just a women’s issue; it is a human rights issue that requires everyone’s participation.” With this statement, Emma Watson underscored at the launch of HeForShe that gender inequality persists because responsibility for addressing it is unevenly distributed.

As long as gender equality is seen as a problem that primarily affects women, real change will remain limited. Nowhere is this more visible than in the workplace, where structural barriers, cultural norms, and gender stereotypes continue to produce unequal outcomes for men and women.

“Men rarely join the fight for women’s rights. […] During my lecture on women and men at work, there were only a handful of men in the room. Just like on Sunday during the march for International Women’s Day. Thousands of women. And a man here and there,” wrote Japke-d. Bouma in NRC. That absence is not without consequences. As long as a broad sense of urgency around gender equality is lacking, progress will remain slow, and the numbers confirm this. Globally, 68.8% of the gender gap has been closed, and if current trends continue, it will take another 123 years to achieve full equality.

Women earn less on average, are less likely to reach leadership positions, and remain underrepresented in strategic decision-making. Organizations increasingly express support for diversity and inclusion, but good intentions do not automatically translate into new behavior. Real progress only occurs when these ambitions are turned into concrete changes in policy, culture, and leadership behavior – changes so tangible you could capture them in an imaginary photograph.

The figures reinforce this picture. In OECD countries, women earn on average about 11–11.5% less than men, meaning they earn roughly 89 cents for every euro earned by men. In the EU, women earn on average about 77% of men’s annual income. Only around one-third of managers in OECD countries are women. In the technology sector, women account for just 29% of employees and only 14% of leaders.

Source: gender wage gap, OECD

Culture shows up in concrete workplace decisions

Change requires more than abstract good intentions or public statements about diversity and inclusion. The position of women improves when different choices are made in everyday workplace practice, particularly in the following areas:

Equal rights: ensuring that men and women have the same opportunities in education, employment, and career advancement.
Equal pay: because fair and transparent pay systems support economic independence.
Breaking persistent gender stereotypes: because social norms and expectations strongly influence how employees are evaluated and developed.

Executive decisions are indispensable

Concrete steps by managers are essential. Awareness begins with training on unconscious bias, so that decisions regarding recruitment, promotion, and compensation are less influenced by stereotypes. Targeted recruitment of female talent helps broaden the talent pool, while flexible work arrangements make it easier for everyone to combine work and family life. Actively supporting women on their path to leadership through mentoring and sponsorship accelerates their progression to senior roles. In practice, this can be as simple and concrete as taking a female colleague along to a client call or involving her in the preparation of a board meeting.

Fair and transparent reward systems form the foundation for these efforts. But perhaps most important are leaders who model these values themselves and actively communicate and implement gender policies within the organization. They send the strongest message of all: that equality is not an afterthought, but a strategic priority.

In many organizations, leadership is still unconsciously associated with traits such as assertiveness, competition, and dominance, qualities traditionally seen as masculine. Research by Alice Eagly shows that these associations influence who is perceived as a “natural leader.” At the same time, it is widely recognized that organizations benefit from a broader mix of leadership qualities.

Collaboration, empathy, and the ability to connect different perspectives are at least as important in complex and fast-changing environments – in both women and men.

When organizations create space for different leadership styles, both masculine and feminine, regardless of gender, they foster a work environment in which talent is better recognized and valued. From this perspective, gender equality is also a key condition for innovation, collaboration, and sustainable organizational development.

The conversation about gender equality in the workplace is therefore gradually shifting from representation to culture and leadership. It is not only about having more women at the table, but also about rethinking how leadership itself is defined and practiced. Organizations that invest in equal rights, fair pay, and breaking stereotypes create room for a wider range of talent and perspectives. At a time when organizations are facing increasingly complex change, this diversity in leadership styles can make the difference between stagnation and progress.