Empowerment Shutdown

Due to persistent challenges, many companies do not inspire women to perform their best at work, according to HiBob's 2025 US Women Professionals in the Modern Workplace report. Only 36 percent of the women surveyed believe their organizations empower them, and only 28 percent believe their employers' culture actively supports them.

HiBob surveyed 2,000 full-time employees; 51 percent of the respondents identified as women.

"While many women feel valued for their contributions, they still face barriers in mentorship, upskilling, and workplace policies—which continue to impact their pay and career progression," Ronni Zehavi, CEO of HiBob, says in a press release. "The persistent gender gap in pay and career growth isn't just a women's issue—it's a workplace issue. Businesses thrive when all employees have equal opportunities to advance."

Part of the problem is organizations' lack of investment in women's professional growth. According to McKinsey & Company's Women in the Workplace 2024 report, businesses last year reduced their overall investment in women-centric programs such as recruitment, internship, and sponsorship programs. In addition, US Women Professionals found only one-quarter of women earned a promotion last year and only one-third received a pay raise. In contrast, one-third of men received a promotion and nearly half saw a bump in their salary. Those statistics lend credence to a widespread concern—Glassdoor found that two-thirds of women don't think their employer is paying them fairly for their work.

In "Pushing for Equal Pay," the Glass-door team writes that "outright discrimination likely isn't the main cause of today's overall gender pay gap (though it's still a contributing factor). Today's factors include things like an increase of men working in care-oriented career fields (sometimes referred to as pink- collar jobs) that are more traditionally held by women and differences in years of experience," the latter likely a result of women leaving the workforce for caretaking obligations.

Each barrier—lower pay, fewer promotions, lack of access to mentorship opportunities, and less opportunity to engage with technology—contributes to disengagement and apathy. To alleviate consternation, organizations must champion gender equity. HiBob suggests expanding mentorship programs, empowering women via upskilling programs (particularly in technology and automation), eliminating bias in performance evaluations, implementing transparent pay structures, and offering benefits such as extended parental leave.