International Women's Day: Balancing the scales requires more than good intentions

This year's International Women's Day theme, Balancing the Scales, is a reminder that progress toward gender equity isn't automatic. It requires deliberate choices about how organisations hire, develop, reward and support their people. 

In Australia and New Zealand, most leaders would agree that gender equity matters. But good intentions alone will not close gaps in pay, progression or opportunity. Real progress comes when equity is built into the design of work itself. 

That starts with visibility. Organisations cannot fix what they cannot see. When leaders have clear, real-time data on pay equity, representation, skills and career mobility, gender equity moves from aspiration to accountability. 

It also requires a shift toward a skills-based approach to workforce design. When hiring and development decisions focus on capability rather than credentials, tenure or networks, the talent pool widens and bias is reduced.

The risk, and the opportunity, of the AI era

We are entering a period where AI is becoming part of the workforce, not just another tool. It's reshaping how work is allocated, how performance is assessed, and how decisions are made.

This creates both risk and opportunity for gender equity.

If organisations rely on historical data or outdated job structures, AI can unintentionally replicate existing imbalances. But when implemented thoughtfully, AI can help shift the focus toward skills, potential and performance. 

This shift matters. Because equity at work isn't just about hiring more women. It's about ensuring they have equal visibility, mobility and access to growth.

Why skills matter more than roles

One of the most important changes we're seeing across organisations is the move toward skills-based workforce models.

When careers are organised around roles, progression often depends on established pathways, visibility and sponsorship. When work is organised around skills, opportunity becomes more transparent and accessible.

AI-driven skills intelligence allows organisations to understand the capabilities they already have, identify hidden talent, and match people to projects, stretch assignments and new career paths based on what they can do, not just what their title says.

This widens the talent pool, supports internal mobility, and helps remove some of the structural barriers that have historically slowed progress for women.

It also enables more flexible careers. This is something many women value but have not always been able to access without penalty.

Flexibility by design 

Flexibility is often discussed as a benefit. Increasingly, it needs to be designed into how work happens.

AI is already automating administrative and repetitive tasks across HR, finance and operational functions. That creates space for higher-value work tasks like problem-solving, decision-making, leadership and innovation.

For employees balancing career progression with caring responsibilities, this shift matters. When performance is measured on outcomes rather than presence, and when work is designed around capability rather than rigid structures, career pathways become more sustainable.

But technology alone doesn't create this change. Leadership intent does. 

Closing the new divide: AI-enabled vs AI-hesitant

A new risk is also emerging, the divide between employees who are confident using AI and those who are not.

Access to AI tools is becoming widespread. But confidence, capability and psychological safety are not.

If organisations don't invest in AI literacy and hands-on learning for everyone, the benefits will concentrate among a small group, widening gaps rather than closing them.

At Workday, we have seen the impact of creating a culture where experimentation is encouraged and learning is part of everyday work. Our Everyday AI program gives employees practical experience using AI in their roles, helping build confidence and ensuring the benefits of the technology are broadly shared.

In the future, inclusion won't just be about representation. It will be about equitable access to capability.

Equity requires design, not optimism

International Women's Day is an important moment to reflect, but real progress depends on what organisations change in practice.

That means:

• Designing work around skills, not tenure or networks

• Building transparent pathways for mobility and growth

• Investing in continuous learning and AI fluency for everyone

• Ensuring technology decisions are grounded in fairness, governance and accountability

The organisations that make progress won't be the ones that adopt AI the fastest. They will be the ones that use it to create more inclusive, flexible and human-centred ways of working.

Gender equity won't be solved by technology alone.

But if we redesign work thoughtfully, and lead with intention, AI can become one of the most powerful catalysts for balancing the scales.