This month the world celebrates International Women’s Day. The 2026 theme is “Give to Gain,” a reminder that generosity and support benefit everyone, not just women.
There is meaningful progress to be celebrated. The pay gap, though not completely closed (particularly for women of color), has been reduced significantly, with 95% of 25- to 34-year-olds earning the same as their male counterparts. Women’s participation in leadership roles has risen gradually year over year, especially at entry and mid-management levels. According to Pew Research Center1, in 2023 46% of all managers in the U.S. were women.
These numbers reflect years of advocacy, talent, and persistence. They also show what is possible when barriers fall away and access expands. While the numbers are encouraging, there are greater gains to be made to support true equality. And since women represent nearly half (47%) of the U.S. labor force, providing them with everything they need to succeed makes good business sense. Women are just as motivated as men, but without support, recognition, and a path to advancement, their energy and focus can decline.
A Credibility Gap Remains
Selective progress does not mean parity. The lived reality of women in the workplace still contains an undercurrent of inequality. The numbers belie a quieter truth: a credibility gap exists in women’s interactions with leaders, colleagues, and clients.
This gap can be seen when a female leader’s emotional expressions are judged differently than those of her male peers. The gap is evident when an accomplished woman is asked to take on more scope without a matching position and pay increase, while less experienced male hires enter at higher levels and pay scales. Leaders reinforce the credibility gap when they tacitly imply: You’ve gained a seat at the table, but you need to remind us, repeatedly, that you have the competence to be there.
Curious about how workplace equality feels beyond the headlines and statistics, I spoke with a few women to listen to their real-world experiences. Their comments underscore why leaders need to be attuned to this issue.
First, I spoke with next-gen female professionals, who described feeling that they needed to do more and go further to prove themselves. These women believed that their answers and decisions were more likely to be questioned, not because they lacked rigor, but because they came from a woman. Their perceptions are consistent with a Pew Research Center study which found that 54% of Americans believe that women have to do more to prove themselves.
Nadia discussed the impact of regulating her emotions to meet the expectations of her role as a scientist. “There’s a certain emotional labor performed at work by women that has, in my opinion, gone under-discussed. Even if I have not directly been scrutinized for my reactivity, I have felt the pressure and the need to be a calm and collected individual.” Marcela, a young engineer with strong credentials and early-career experience, described being challenged on her models and calculations, even when they match the same work her male colleague uses without scrutiny. “I don’t think it is a matter of working harder per se, because at the end of the day, I’m still doing the same engineering and development as my male counterparts.
What’s different is how I have to prove why my developments are advantageous or correct.”
The credibility gap comes through for Tina, a young IT professional who notices how underrepresented she is, not only in the broader field, but also in her own team meetings. “I do feel like I have to prove myself more than my male colleagues in my IT job. Since my team is made up of all middle-aged men, I feel the pressure as not only a woman, but as a young woman, to represent my gender and prove that I can be smart and problem solve the same way they can.” Working with her team, Tina is not thinking about the progress women have made in STEM. She is tracking how her effort and competence are being evaluated differently from her peers. Representation does not automatically fix equity, and male-dominated fields often add extra proof burdens.
Access has improved. More women have a seat at the table. What still lags is the default confidence granted to them, so they do not have to second-guess themselves or repeatedly prove competence in ways their male coworkers rarely have to. “There is also a mental load that is harder to quantify. My appearance, facial expressions, and communication style are more likely to be commented on or scrutinized,” shares Debbie, an engineer. “Being direct can be labeled differently depending on who is delivering the message. Being confident can be interpreted as aggressive. That means there is constant calibration happening behind the scenes. It is not just about the quality of the technical work. It is about how that work is presented and perceived.”
The credibility gap is not unique to young female professionals. Conversations with women in senior-level roles echo a similar sentiment. Meghan, a senior leader in the consumer products field, feels pride for her achievements, yet she has encountered double standards that have slowed her career momentum. “I am trying to understand what I need to do better. I am meeting all my goals and it’s not clear to me why I’m not getting that next role.” The feedback she’s received has been vague. “I’m not done advancing but I get the message that I still simply haven’t done enough, although I don’t know what enough means.”
Commenting on women’s status in the tech field, Debbie said, “I do not believe we have reached full equality yet. We have improved access to the field, but we still need to be intentional about advancement, visibility, and how talent is developed. True equality means women have the same opportunity to remain deeply technical, to lead innovation, and to define the direction of engineering, not just support it.”
Data from a recent Gallup poll2 underscores the connection between burnout, engagement, and motivation for women in the workplace. In the U.S., 51% of working women report feeling stressed “a lot of the day,” compared to 39% of men, and 42% say their job has negatively impacted their mental health in the past six months. Not surprisingly, this strain is affecting retention and discretionary effort: 48% of female employees say they are actively looking for a new job or watching for opportunities due to burnout and stress. A critical way to change the trajectory of these metrics is to close the credibility gap.
Best Practices for Closing the Credibility Gap
The theme “Give to Gain” (providing support and encouragement to achieve results) is not sentimental. It is strategic. When women are supported in the workplace, they are more engaged and motivated. When they are given access to opportunities and sponsors, they contribute meaningfully to the bottom line. The following best practices offer ways that leaders can increase the engagement and motivation of women in the workplace.
Recruit and hire women. Use your leadership capital to ensure that strong, capable women are an intentional part of your recruiting and hiring process. This lets younger professionals know they are welcome and sends the message to senior-level women that you are serious about continued efforts for equality. Place women in high visibility projects and positions. This not only provides women the opportunity to manage tasks that keep your operations humming but also enables them to participate in strategic efforts that propel the organization forward.
Promote and compensate equitably. Although better, the pay gap is not gone, particularly at higher levels and for women of color. Donna, a young nurse, shares, “Women have achieved a level of equality in healthcare, particularly in nursing, because women are the majority of our nurses and are respected within this field. However, male nurses tend to make more than female nurses. While it did surprise me, it also did not. I think that just reflects the bigger picture that there are gender gaps in pay, and they still exist, even in professions where women are the majority.”
Pay attention to pay and level differences for employees with comparable skills and experience, and work to close them. Use data points that benchmark roles by industry and create a neutral comparative point to bolster your argument for parity. Don’t wait for your employee to point out a discrepancy; address the issue proactively.
Elevate and affirm women’s contributions. Create an environment that helps women feel like they truly belong. Challenge interruptions and idea theft, behaviors that can diminish even the strongest of voices. Tune into tone (yours and others) and avoid arrogance or judgment. The younger women I talked to said that tone, judgment, and arrogance, while hard to spot, often made them feel unequal. The senior-level women I spoke with said they continued to contend with this, despite years of accomplishments. The antidote? Use words and tones that elevate and highlight women’s contributions. The goal is to recognize their impact authentically while equalizing the attention and respect given to all smart contributors.
Provide female role models and mentors. Young female leaders, in particular, stressed that they need role models. And not just in the senior-most positions, but also on the day-to-day teams they are a part of. Tina stated, “I have been lucky enough to have two strong female role models in my current job. They are a big influence in inspiring me to work harder and lead better. When consulting with them, I often feel as though they create a safe space to discuss topics without preconceived judgment or arrogance. Seeing these women step up into higher leadership roles encourages me to keep working and put forth bigger and brighter ideas.”
Debbie also stressed the importance of role modeling. “The absence of visible role models has also shaped my perspective in a productive way. It has made me intentional about how I show up for other women entering the field. I want to model technical competence, confidence, and collaboration in a way that makes the path feel more accessible than it did for me.” Female mentors not only create a blueprint for younger generations, but they also create a safe space in the here-and-now.
Motivated Women Build Strong Organizations
Give to Gain is a call to strengthen your organization by strengthening its women. Progress is real, and the gap is still real. Give to Gain does not demand herculean efforts to reform the entire system. The emerging and tenured professionals I spoke with aren’t asking for sweeping declarations. They simply want to share their thoughts without being judged, talked down to, or asked to unnecessarily prove themselves. They want conversations that build, not diminish. As Debbie put it, “Respect, access, and accountability are not complex concepts, but they require consistent follow-through.”
Give to Gain invites leaders to notice the credibility gap and close it by listening well and communicating clearly. These are learnable leadership behaviors. With practice and the right training, leaders can strengthen trust, create more productive dialogue, and reduce the communication breakdowns that hold teams back.
Excluding women is bad for business. When leaders choose, intentionally and consistently, to give respect and opportunity to women, they build strong organizations. These high-performing organizations foster environments where women feel that they are credible, capable, and worthy of the roles they hold. That they are smart. That they belong. That they have a right to the seat they occupy. They stop second-guessing themselves, because they know that those around them are not second-guessing them, either. When those in positions of authority give women this kind of leadership, they gain engagement, loyalty, and a culture that uplifts everyone—employees, customers, clients, and stakeholders.
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1 https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/07/17/women-are-a-rising-share-of-us-managers-and-professionals/
2 https://www.gallup.com/workplace/653843/program-culture-women-wellbeing-work.aspx
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