International Women’s Day (IWD) 2025 is a call to step forward in solidarity and help #AccelerateAction toward gender equality. While progress has been made, the current pace suggests full gender parity won’t be achieved until 2158, according to the World Economic Forum. This year’s theme highlights the urgent need for systemic change to close the gender gap. This week, we recognise the incredible contributions of women in workplaces across Australia—and the work still needed to achieve true gender equity in leadership.
At SuperFriend, we’re committed to building mentally healthy workplaces where all women can thrive, lead, and succeed. But despite progress, women remain underrepresented in leadership roles.
How can we #AccelerateAction to reach full gender parity and close the leadership gap? Read on!
The Disparity in Senior Management Roles
From our soon to be released Indicators of a Thriving Workplace 2024 report we can see that Women remain significantly underrepresented in senior leadership positions, and the disparity is even more pronounced in certain age groups. Workers in senior management roles are far more likely to be male, and this is especially true for the 18-24 year and 45-54 year age brackets:
- 18-24 years: Only 17% of senior management positions are held by women.
- 45-54 years: Only 25% of senior management positions are held by women.
One major contributor to this imbalance is the additional caregiver burden that disproportionately affects women, impacting their career progression, mental health, and long-term workplace engagement.
The Impact of Caregiving on Women in the Workforce
Beyond parenting, many women also take on non-parental caregiving roles, leading to increased stress and burnout. Data from Indicators of a Thriving Workplace 2024 highlights the following challenges:
- 11% of working women (vs. 7% of men) have non-parental caring responsibilities.
- Burnout Risk: 50% of women in caregiving roles are “at risk” or burned out, compared to 41% of women without these additional responsibilities.
- Psychological Distress: 67.5% of women in caregiver roles experience moderate to severe distress, compared to 58% of those without caregiving responsibilities.
- Lower Job Retention Intentions: 11.3% of women in caregiver roles do not intend to stay in their current position in the next 12 months, compared to 8.5% of those without caregiving duties.
The Role of Work Flexibility
While hybrid work has been touted as a solution for work-life balance, it presents both benefits and challenges. Women in healthcare, education, and other female-dominated sectors often face limited flexibility, contributing to higher burnout rates. At the same time, working from home can blur boundaries, increase isolation, and exacerbate workload pressures.
How Businesses Can #AccelerateAction for Women
To drive meaningful change, organisations must actively support women in the workplace. Here’s how:
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- Increase Representation in Leadership – Implement targeted policies to support women’s career growth.
- Address the Caregiver Burden – Provide additional support for employees juggling work and caregiving responsibilities.
- Promote Mental Health & Wellbeing – Offer workplace mental health programs and initiatives. Not sure where to start? Explore some of SuperFriend's tools and resources for workplaces!
- Reassess Hybrid Work Strategies – Develop policies that allow flexibility while mitigating burnout and isolation. Learn more about Work Design in this blog article!
- Recognise & Reward Women’s Contributions – Acknowledge and celebrate women’s achievements at all levels.
- Increase Representation in Leadership – Implement targeted policies to support women’s career growth.
What can workplaces do to take action?
By recognising and addressing the systemic barriers identified in the data that are impacting women in the workplace, we can take steps toward closing the gender gap. SuperFriend have a range of tools and resources to help you take steps to improving workplace mental health and wellbeing.
You could be eligible for mental health support for your organisation - all at no cost! Find out today how you can take action and prioritise mental health in your workplace.
