#AcceleratingAction this International Women's Day

On Thursday 6 March 2025, we celebrated International Women's Day with a webinar focusing on this year’s theme: Accelerating Action on gender equality. The panel included Habibunnisha Patel, General Counsel at Cancer Research UK, and Lia Machado, Group Legal Counsel at Arnold White Group, alongside chair Katie-Jane Rees, Partner at Foot Anstey.

The conversation began with a reflection on the progress made in gender equality throughout their careers. Although women were formally admitted into the legal profession 100 years ago, it is within the past generation that they have gone from a minority to more than half of the profession. The landscape has changed significantly—25 years ago, the women who broke through the glass ceiling were few, leaving aspiring professionals with limited role models. Discussions on gender equality were less prevalent, and many barriers were unacknowledged.

While much has improved, progress remains slow. At the current pace, full gender parity is still more than 80 years away. The urgency to accelerate change is clear, yet not universally accepted. This year’s annual Ipsos poll for International Women’s Day presents a mixed picture—offering both signs of hope and challenges, particularly the perception of gender progress as a zero-sum game, where the advancement of women is sometimes seen as a loss for men.

The panel also underscored the importance of sponsorship and allyship in fostering career growth and the need for collaboration to address systemic challenges. As the panel emphasised, gender equality benefits everyone. True progress requires men and women to work together toward shared success. A key issue discussed was workplace flexibility—ensuring that all employees, regardless of gender, can balance work with life’s demands, whether through caregiving or other responsibilities. We're already striving for a flexible workplace for our people with generous holiday, sabbaticals and enhanced parental leave.  

Ultimately, gender equality extends beyond women’s issues. It requires openness to challenges, willingness to engage in difficult conversations, and a collective effort to find solutions that create a win-win for all.