International Women's Day

Posted on 7th March 2025

8th March is International Women's Day - a day to celebrate the achievements of women, raise awareness of ongoing challenges and encourage action towards eqaulity.

Unfortunately, too many companies treat the day as a marketing campaign, rather than working towards real change. In recent years, the Gender Pay Gap Bot has highlighted this by sharing firms' gender pay gap alongside their International Womens Day posts. The bot has over 230,000 followers, and has become a staple part of the day. It's no longer enough to talk about equality - staff and customers want to see real effort and will challenge any sign of hypocrisy.

Are you sure your actions match up to your social media posts? If not, it might be safer to spend the day reflecting and improving. We've selected our most relevant resources to get you started.

While many of these issues can also affect men, the rates at which they affect women make this a good day to read more.

Sex Discrimination

Sex discrimination occurs when a person is treated less favourably because of their sex. Both men and women are protected from discrimination on the basis of their sex, but many equality measures came about in response to historical poor treatment of women.

Pregnancy and maternity discrimination

Pregnancy and maternity is a distinct protected characteristic. Find out more about health and safety, returning to work and redundancy while pregnant or on maternity leave.

Why your company needs a menopause policy

Learn about how the menopause affects women at work, the benefits of a good policy, and how you can support your employees.

Flexible working and sex discrimination

Policies that impact disproportionately on employees with childcare responsibilities can be discriminatory, as the tribunal accepts that women generally take on more of the family caring responsibilities. Find out how to reduce the risks of flexible working (including the potential for discrimination).

The duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment

The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act) Bill places employers under an obligation to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees. Anyone can be the victim of harassment, but workforce demographics and gendered power imbalances can contribute.

Supporting employees experiencing domestic abuse

While it's not just a female issue, one in four women have experienced domestic abuse and at least one woman is killed by a current or former partner every week. There are steps you can take to support employees facing abuse, including leave as suggested under the Domestic Abuse (Safe Leave) Bill.

Sex as an occupational requirement

There are times when you can recruit based upon protected characteristics - as highlighted when Dundee and Angus College hired a man to be their period dignity officer.

Discrimination based on gender critical views

It's the most contested feminist discussion right now, and has led to several tribunal cases. How can employers balance the rights of both sides without discriminating?

Is it time to say RIP to NDAs?

Non-disclosure agreements have been widely misused to cover up sexual harassment. With the misuse of NDA’s being publicly exposed and people openly breaching them, are such agreements still legitimate or effective? Or is it time to consign them to legal history?

Single-sex facilities

Single-sex facilities have become a hot topic at the tribunal, but they aren't just a health and safety issue. You must also consider your duty towards preventing sexual harassment and the potential for discrimination on grounds of sex, disability, religion and belief or gender reassignment.