Taking action to accelerate inclusion and gender equality in the workplace

Why progress on equity has stalled – and how to tackle the stalemate

Marianne Curphey

27 March 2025

This article is taken from the Spring 2025 issue of

Think Global People magazine

View your copy of the Spring 2025 issue of Think Global People magazine.

Finding ways to accelerate gender equality in the workplace was a key theme of Think Global Women 2025: Taking Action for Equity which Relocate Global celebrated in London for International Women’s Day.Mark Freed, managing director of Men for Inclusion, was the keynote speaker and discussed effective ways to transform workplaces into truly diverse environments. Sarah Rozenthuler, associate fellow at the British Psychological Society and author of Now we’re talking, showed how the power of conversation can help tackle difficult issues at work and at home which have gone undiscussed and unresolved. Dr Sue Shortland, Professor Emerita at Guildhall Business & Law at London Metropolitan University and a Senior Lecturer in HRM at the University of Westminster, explained that equity is about fairness, but minority groups are not starting on a level playing field, and work needs to be done to open up opportunities at all levels.His speech highlighted how, despite companies investing time, energy and resources into diversity, equity and inclusion programmes, progress towards a more equitable workplace appears to have stalled. In his role as consultant to major companies in the finance, energy and other industries, he has identified the reasons for this. Firstly, unless an organisation changes its culture, change will be slow. Secondly, some men are resistant to change and feel disengaged from or even threatened by DE&I initiatives, and finally, creating an organisation that is truly inclusive means that all voices need to be heard.

Breaking the mold: Mark Freed champions systemic change and “inclusion allies”

Mark Free kick-started the day with a thought-provoking talk on why progress in gender equality in the workplace has been slow for women and unsatisfactory for men. Mark has spent twenty-five years supporting women through coaching and driving systemic change. He collaborated with HM Treasury on the Women in Finance Charter and addressed the presenter pay gap. Frustrated by the slow progress, Mark shifted his focus and co-founded Men for Inclusion to foster collaboration and find solutions.“This year's theme for International Women’s Day is accelerating action,” he said. “With the current state of the world, we need to seriously assess how far we have progressed in building gender equality. Are we still following the same old strategies, or is it time to try something new? I hope this session will spark new ideas and discussions.”Mark has first-hand experience of how, despite great efforts, many traditional male-dominated industries fail to keep talented women who join them in the early stages of their career. Since 2002 he has been running E2W, an organisation that is focussed on supporting and helping women in their financial services careers and helping financial institutions to attract, recruit and retain them. Men for Inclusion was launched to help more men in the majority groups to become true advocated for inclusion, driven by a strong belief that there are economic and social benefits in achieving lasting change.He suggested that although many companies have robust Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) policies, real change and progress towards an inclusive culture is not happening because these values are not being modelled by senior leadership and are not being embedded effectively across the organisation. He argued that men were also trapped by persistent stereotypes and that organisations that were not diverse had a higher risk profile.

Why has progress been slow and piecemeal in DE&I?

“Progress towards true diversity and inclusion has been slow, and in some cases even gone backwards,” Mark told delegates. He said that often, discussions about gender are framed in binary terms of men and women, with women needed to be coached and fixed, and men needed to be persuaded to support female empowerment, but that had not been particularly successful.“You can bring diverse talent to the table, but unless the menu changes, they won’t have the opportunity to truly contribute,” he said. “What percentage of our time and resources have we spend counting and “fixing” women while ignoring men? Although diversity has got us this far, inclusion needs to be the focus going forward. Men are struggling too and often don’t have a stake in diversity, only an obligation to become allies. Allies are hard to find and are not effective in driving inclusion.We need to change the narrative to inclusion leaders.”In his definition, inclusion leaders are more than just allies – they are specially trained people within organisations whom colleagues can go to with questions and concerns, and who will also advocate for women and minorities. This is a less formal approach that having to speak to HR and inclusion leaders can advocate for people on their team and in the wider organisation.“Placing people in rigid categories reinforces stereotypes, and it is unhelpful for inclusion,” Mark said. “Many men, for instance, don't fit traditional gender stereotypes. Inclusion is fundamentally about culture, behaviours, and values. In the past, efforts have often focused heavily on policies and procedures. While those are necessary, today I encourage us to shift our focus to the values and behaviours that foster genuine inclusion.”In a collaborative, nuanced discussion, he encouraged attendees to think about the personal and the business case for a new approach to promote gender equality, diversity, and inclusion.“For me, it always starts with a business case,” he said. “In my work with large financial services firms and energy sector companies, I find that those most engaged and passionate about diversity can clearly articulate their business case. Recently, I worked with the senior leadership from EDF Nuclear Power Stations. When I asked them about their business case, they said it was about risk. Traditionally, nuclear power stations were run by men, often in outdated ways. This created groupthink, which posed a significant risk. They realised they needed diversity and inclusion to mitigate that risk.“On the other hand, financial services firms often cite doing the “right thing”, wanting to meet regulatory requirements, or wanting to reflect their customer base as their business case. These are less compelling reasons. After defining their business case, organisations often seek data to measure diversity and inclusion. They count the number of women, analyse recruitment data, and implement HR policies to attract and support diverse talent. Policies addressing sexual harassment and inclusive behaviours are written and enforced.”He said organisations also focus on training. They provide women with leadership development programs, imposter syndrome workshops, and skills training. While well-intentioned, these efforts often imply that women need fixing to fit into a pre-existing system. Mark argued that true change requires a shift in how we define leadership and value diverse contributions.

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Overcoming resistance and creating inclusion champions

Then there is also the issue of resistance. Mark said some men feel excluded or threatened by diversity efforts, and this can lead to gender conflict and reinforce biases. By focusing on behaviours, values, and culture instead, leaders can demonstrate how inclusion benefits everyone.“Our approach includes three key elements: awareness, desire, and action,” he said. “First, we must raise awareness of lived experiences and recognise the gaps that exist. Second, we need to engage those who are not yet passionate about diversity. As Emma Watson said in her 2014 UN speech when she spoke as Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women, progress requires everyone in the room. Lastly, we must act by creating inclusive environments where all voices are heard.”He pointed to research conducted by Cambridge University that highlighted the concept of the “lived experience gap”. Women often face accidental sexism, such as being excluded from social networks, not receiving airtime in meetings, or being interrupted. These microaggressions accumulate, leading to fewer high-profile responsibilities and reduced career progression opportunities.“For example, workplace social networks often revolve around activities like football,” he said. “If someone is side-lined from informal networks, they are less likely to receive visibility and support. Additionally, unconscious biases may influence performance evaluations. Women often face higher scrutiny and are required to provide more evidence of their competence. The lived experience gap is not inevitable. By acknowledging these challenges and committing to change, we can create truly inclusive workplaces.”Mark suggested that rather than following the same DEI strategies, a new approach is needed that focuses on values and behaviours not policy and procedures, with an aim to secure a real shift of focus on cultural change.Delegates were encouraged to discuss how equity might be achieved in the workplace, and what the benefits would be for both men and women. Feedback included being able to have better mental health, more confidence, a greater equity in partnerships at home, greater involvement in family and a better work-life balance.“We have created a world of opportunity and choice that my mother didn’t have 70 years ago, but how far have men come, and are we still bound by the old stereotypes?” Mark said.“Inclusion benefits us all – it gives us all a stake and an opportunity. Change is possible – we can all take small practical actions to exercise our inclusion muscle.”Kim Bradley-Cole, Senior lecturer University of Winchester, speaking from the floor, argued that women’s voices were often not heard in the workplace.“Let’s change the culture and change the way that meetings are run so that all voices are heard,” she said.Delegates also discussed how an organisation with an engrained culture which excluded people who didn’t look the same as senior management was not a progressive place for minorities to work. That in turn might lead to presenteeism rather than productivity, loss of confidence and feelings of being an imposter. Women in particular are used to being judged more harshly at work and having fewer positive role models to look up to.

Resolving the most difficult workplace conversations – a workshop with Sarah Rozenthuler

The next session was led by Sarah Rozenthuler, an accomplished author and founder of Bridgework Consulting Ltd, which empowers leaders, teams, and organisations to achieve greatness. Sarah is a member of the faculty at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, where she teaches on the Advanced Management and Leadership Programme.Her latest book Now We’re Talking: How to discuss what really matters, explores how approaching difficult conversations with planning and preparation can be an opportunity for growth and transformation.In her workshop she challenged attendees to think about:

What are you not discussing that you need to talk about?
What do you always discuss but never resolve?
How do we cut through patterns in organisations of avoiding or attempting conversations?

“A conversation is a threshold you can cross,” she explained to the audience. “Conversations are apertures that open up things or shut them down if they are not successful.”She explained how research shows that leaders are often not trained in tackling difficult or emotive conversations and their lack of skill means that in many organisations the really big or difficult problems never get resolved. Indeed 82 per cent of managers are “accidental managers” and two thirds of meetings are unproductive, she said.“Difficult conversations are about difficult emotions. What for you is a difficult conversation?” she asked delegates, explaining that when it comes to tricky conversations, we are often less aware of the payoffs and more aware of the risks of speaking out. She encouraged people instead to think about what the positive pay out might be if you were to broach a difficult topic and engage with it successfully.

What gets in the way of good conversations?

Sarah also looked at some of the blockages and issues that might stop people having healthy conversations about difficult themes. These include:

I don’t have the time
There are some people you can’t talk to
Nothing will change anyway (ie I would rather not have that conversation)
Better not rock the boat (expressing a fear of potential fallout from the conversation and even emotional damage)

Sarah said that there could be real systemic challenges and barriers to beginning such a dialogue, and it was important before you began to plan for a difficult conversation to be aware of the “inner game “of conversation, and the blocks and obstacles that might be there.She encouraged attendees to reflect on the conversations they found challenging—from advocating for yourself, giving challenging feedback to a senior colleague, making your voice heard in meetings, or coaching your team.

Name it to tame it – name the block to loosen its grip on you

Sarah explained that barriers, both internal and external, can hinder your ability to engage. She discussed the psychological principle of “name it to tame it.” In other words, by naming your fears, they lose some of their grip on you.An example, which Sarah had used herself, was to be open and say: “I’m feeling really agitated by this conversation”.Whether it is a lack of confidence, fear of conflict, or time constraints, by naming the issue that holds you back, you can reduce the fear. Sarah also looked at resources you could use to help you succeed in initiating and managing a difficult conversation and explained that although we might not want to engage with tricky issues, managing the fallout in the long run takes more time than leaning in and sorting it out.This might include actually speaking your opening line out loud, after you have decided what approach you are going to use. It might also be practising a difficult conversation with a friend, or having a personal mantra to encourage yourself when you are nervous.She suggested you “Name it to claim it” in order to tap into the strength of past successes and your internal and external resources to provide support.“Think about what you can draw on to get you across the line,” she says. “Having a difficult conversation is a skill that you can learn and practice.”

Hearing all voices and making work fair

In her session, Dr Sue Shortland explained that in employment, women have fewer networks, mentors and role models and, as a result, less access to senior, career enhancing, employment opportunities. While acknowledging the importance of promoting inclusive values in the workplace, Sue noted that we still operate within organisations where policies and procedures are important.Feedback from the tables was very positive, with attendees agreeing that positive action at work could include thinking about who the minority was at their workplace and ensuring that they had a voice. Leaders and managers needed to become conscious inclusion champions who helped to foster a climate of respect and belonging in organisation, and although change is tough and takes time, it can be built through incremental changes.These changes might include setting boundaries, understanding the expectations of the other people we work with, mentoring and coaching roles, recognising minorities and giving them a voice, and using diversity to mitigate risk.Overall, the message from this wonderful Think Women event was one of hope and empowerment. Each of us can individually start to create a positive future where we can be authentic, where we can understand each other’s lived experience, and where we can bring our creativity and our passion to work. A healthy workplace is one where we prioritise good communication and value the individual contributions of all of our team members.

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