Supercharging progress on IWD and beyond

While some signs point to the stalling of economic progress for women (recent Pew data indicate the gender pay gap has only slightly narrowed), meaningful advancements have also been made.

Self pointed out, "I can't remember a time with so many new initiatives launching around the world explicitly focused on advancing women's rights and experiences in the workplace… Every time I have a conversation with an HR team, we almost always discuss women's inclusion, which wasn't the case ten years ago.”

For example, Catalyst’s CEO Champions For Change community, which represent nearly 11 million employees and earn more than $3 trillion in annual revenue, are more committed to closing talent gaps than ever.

Cox highlighted, "There has never been more compelling data and a larger body of research showing that diversity in organizations is what makes them resilient during times of economic and political uncertainty. And if this is not a time of economic and political uncertainty, then I don't know what is."

Investing in inclusive policies like flexible work, equitable practices like pay audits, and talent development fosters a culture that can withstand challenges.

As Cox stated, "All of this is an expression of value. Do companies value their employees enough to pay them a fair salary? Do they value their employees enough to trust them to do the job in a way they deem best for themselves and the company?"

Self stressed the importance of pay equity programs, noting that they directly impact people’s lives. "When you're involved in a pay equity project and see a company go back and remediate gaps they’ve found, it’s obvious that you're talking about real people and affecting them where it often matters most — their paycheck."

Pay equity programs are a tangible way for organizations to demonstrate fairness, and Self noted that fair pay was the second top reason employees stayed at their jobs in Mercer’s Global Talent Trends survey.

"At its core, pay equity is about ensuring individuals are treated fairly. It's not about division or focusing solely on groups. Instead, it fosters a unifying conversation that most people can support," Self explained.

Building inclusive workplaces requires acknowledging that certain groups may feel alienated from inclusion programs, like men. Self advised, "It's important to find those first principles and universal values that bring people together, allowing them to have conversations on equal grounds."

On the pushback against inclusion initiatives, Cox said, "DEI is often misconstrued as a narrow, exclusive framework that is a zero-sum game, and that is absolutely not true. DEI is about putting humanness and humanity into a business.”

Effective communication that resonates across different audiences is key to overcoming resistance and promoting inclusive progress. "When women thrive and reach their economic potential, everyone benefits," Cox stated.

Whether it’s AI or pay equity, global companies face varying regulatory landscapes that require a unified approach. Self emphasized the need for integrated strategies: "I've seen organizations developing different policies and protocols for integrating AI into the work experience in Europe than in the US. Long term, that feels expensive, complicated, and difficult to manage."

Cox noted the growing gender gap in AI adoption and advocated for organizations to embrace AI, like in talent recruiting. "In my conversations with major recruitment agencies from around the world, that was the big takeaway: AI is not going away and is a tool that can supercharge our value in the future of the paid labor market," she said.