International Women’s Day in March is a reminder that advancing gender equality requires more than awareness — it requires sustained, measurable action. Female leadership is now recognised as a key driver of business competitiveness, with clear evidence showing that it strengthens innovation, improves decision making and enhances organisational resilience. 

Advancing women’s leadership: how to build a strong pipeline  

Yet progress remains slow. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2025, women hold just 35.4% of leadership positions worldwide, underscoring a persistent gap at senior levels. 

McKinsey Women in the Workplace 2025 report reinforces this picture: for the eleventh consecutive year, women remain underrepresented across every stage of the corporate pipeline. Only 29% of Csuite positions are held by women, and the broken rung continues to be a major barrier — for every 100 men promoted to manager, only 93 women advance, falling to 74 among women from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. 

A further gap between intention and action also emerges. While 84% of companies claim to prioritise an inclusive culture, only 54% treat women’s advancement as a high priority, decreasing to 46% for women in underrepresented groups. This highlights a disconnect: inclusion may feature prominently in corporate messaging, but the structural support required for women’s progression often remains limited. 

Recent international research published in BMJ Global Health shows that strategic investment in female leadership leads to clear and measurable improvements in organisational performance. The evidence is striking: 87% of studies reviewed report a positive and significant impact on organisational outcomes. Women in leadership often foster more ethical, collaborative cultures, strengthening social responsibility, team cohesion and communication. 

In line with this findings, the Esade Gender Monitor 2025 highlights that female leadership is particularly characterised by active listening, empathy, strong communication skills and teamwork, as well as a holistic, longterm approach that prioritises collective wellbeing. Although these qualities are not exclusive to women, research suggests they tend to appear more frequently within female leadership styles. 

Insights from report shows the measures that women professionals consider most effective for developing leadership skills include mentoring, coaching and sponsoring programmes (15%), management skills training (13%), and initiatives that promote an inclusive culture (12%).

The report also highlights a mixed landscape of barriers: while 29% of female executives report having faced no genderrelated obstacles in the past year, those who did identify challenges point mainly to conscious and unconscious bias (27%), difficulties balancing professional and personal responsibilities (17%), lack of recognition (12%), and limited visibility for internal promotion (6%). 

Based on the factors women leaders value most —as identified by Esade’s Women Initiative (coaching, mentoring and sponsoring 48.3%, management skills training 38.1%, flexible working arrangements 37.3%, and an inclusive culture 34%)— organisations can prioritise the following actions:  

• Strengthen mentoring, coaching and sponsorship pathways, ensuring women receive consistent advocacy and visibility at key career moments.  

• Expand access to leadership and management development, enabling women to build the strategic and operational capabilities required for advancement.  

• Implement flexible working models that genuinely support progression, ensuring flexibility enhances rather than limits opportunities.  

• Cultivate an inclusive workplace and a strong sense of belonging, backed by transparent processes and accountable leadership to make equity part of daily practice. 

At HBX Group, we are actively strengthening our female talent pipeline through a range of ongoing initiatives, including:  

• Mentoring Programme – A structured six-month journey connecting women with experienced mentors who provide guidance, support and real-world insights. 

• Aspire Future Leaders – HBX Group’s flagship development programme for emerging leaders, aimed at boosting confidence, visibility and leadership readiness. 

• TheUni learning hub – A central platform offering continuous learning through live sessions, eLearning, leadership pathways and skills development powered by Percipio. 

• Leadership development framework – Including 360degree feedback, tailored leadership capabilities and ESG aligned expectations to ensure consistent, fair and inclusive leadership standards. 

• Women @ HBX (ERG) – A dedicated community for women and allies, focused on connection, career development and strengthening representation across the organisation. 

To further strengthen these efforts, HBX Group also applies broader gender equity measures that support long-term progression. This includes data driven gender responsive policies, transparent promotion and pay frameworks, flexible working options that genuinely enable career continuity, and safe, inclusive workplace practices. We explored these additional actions in more detail in our previous article for the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, where we highlighted how they contribute to building a stronger and more sustainable female talent pipeline.