What's making the news for women: Gender Equity in the workplace 2025.

📰 1LV Round up: What’s Making the News for Women in the UK Workplace

As we hit the halfway mark in 2025, here’s what’s been making headlines - these stories not only reflect progress but also underline the challenges that stay.

DEI pullback in the US—but What About the UK?

Barclays has caught attention by dropping its gender and ethnicity representation targets for US employees, citing political and legal pressures. While this decision does not directly affect UK staff, it raises critical questions about the steadfastness of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts in the UK.

So, it was particularly heartening to see so many examples of good practices to foster gender balance and diversity at the INSEAD Alumni Balance in Business Awards 2025 last week. Congratulations to Schroders for the overall Winner.

Targets aren’t about tokenism—they’re about accountability. Why it matters:

Why This Matters

• DEI targets: They hold organisations accountable to their pledges.

• Leadership pipelines: Gender equity in senior roles across UK industries continues to lag.

• Silence speaks volumes: A lack of commitment from UK firms could set back progress.

FCA to Crack Down on Bullying and Misconduct in Finance

According to Financial News, after uncovering over 2,000 incidents of bullying, harassment, and discrimination across 1,000 financial firms, the Financial Conduct Authority is expected to introduce a new code to hold companies accountable for their workplace culture—not just their financial compliance.

This step is particularly significant for the finance sector, which has long struggled with gender inclusion. A toxic culture often pushes women out of the industry, and addressing these issues could pave the way for meaningful change - if it’s backed with teeth!

This is why Goal 6 of WE+M, the practice gender benchmark from One Loud Voice (https://www.oneloudvoice.co.uk/benchmark) is all about how organisations deal with bullying and harassment.

Changing DEI Approaches

A good case for cognitive diversity is back by research commissioned by the Diversity Project 2025 and Prof. Alex Edmans which looked at cognitive diversity in asset management. The Power of Diverse Thinkin report concluded that:

1. Cognitive diversity can create clear competitive advantages for investment firms.

2. But cognitive diversity also comes with potential challenges.

3. Sophisticated leadership is therefore essential to harness the benefits and minimise frictions from cognitive diversity.

Baroness Helena Morrissey from the Diversity Project argues that current DEI efforts focus too much on numbers (gender ratios) and not enough on inclusion and cognitive diversity -like One Loud Voice, she backs more thoughtful practices to build unity and minimise tokenism.

Women Entrepreneurs Say: “Investors Still Don’t Take Us Seriously”

A UK-wide survey of 500 women who run their own businesses, commissioned by AXA UK for its Startup Angel competition has revealed what many already know: women founders are still being underestimated. The poll highlighted the challenges the women running their own businesses face including gender bias (59 per cent) whilst 42 per cent said they have faced stereotypical perceptions around ‘emotional’ versus 'rational’ decision making.

Top reasons? Gender bias, outdated assumptions, and limited access to influential networks.

This isn’t a confidence gap—it’s a credibility gap. And it’s costing women-led businesses investment and impact.

Top UK Cities for Gender Equality

A nationwide survey by Superdrug Online Doctor has ranked Sheffield first and Liverpool second as best Cities for gender-inclusive workplaces. The survey highlights cities where women feel most empowered, supported, and able to progress professionally without bias or discrimination. In the survey of 2000 women in the UK, 81% of the women in Sheffield reported they’ve never experienced gender bias—a significantly higher figure than the national average. The city’s workplaces were found to be 1.5 times more likely to foster an inclusive, non-biased environment. Well done, Sheffield.

Exclusion at London Tech Week

Davina Schonle, founder of Humanvantage AI, was denied entry to London Tech Week because she brought her 8-month‑old daughter—highlighting how events still do not accommodate mothers. This incident reignited debate on systemic inequities in tech, where women make up less than a third of the workforce and receive just 1.8% of start‑up funding.

History Footnote…

It’s 50 years since the UK signed the Sex Discrimination Act (1975), outlawing workplace discrimination on the grounds of gender. Progress? Yes. But we’re not done yet.