- Key Insight: See why senior leadership roles held by women dropped to just 31 percent.
- What's at Stake: Leaders face losing critical female talent and damaging their organization's long-term financial success.
- Forward Look: Expect the responsibility of bridging gaps for women to fall predominantly on leaders.
Source: Bullets generated by AI with editorial review.
Organizations may preach diversity, inclusion and equity but women's current experience at work proves that there's still a long way to go in fostering a healthy environment.
Women can excel in their careers and drive business growth when they have benefits, policies and a company culture that supports them. New research from nonprofit economic think tank Milken Institute's Employer Action Exchange (EAE) and its Women's Health Network shows why, as factors like diminishing mental health, economic volatility, and AI uncertainty abound, making investing in this cohesive support more important than ever.
"[Employers] can't remove [all of the workplace barriers], but they could help people work through it better and come out stronger," said Sabrina Spitaletta, one of the authors of the EAE report. "From women's healthcare to their career … You have to create opportunities where there's clear support for accessing the resources, benefits and policies provided, and that comes from modeling and transparent communication."
Read more:
It's not just about inclusion, either, Spitaletta said. As the needs of women continue to outpace organizations' efforts, leaders will not only lose valuable talent but it will reflect in their bottom line and the long-term success of their organization as a whole.
Here are some of the most significant challenges women continue to face in today's workforce and the ways in which leaders can play a role in solving them.
Improve access to healthcare
Despite continued and significant investments in women's health, employers are still missing the mark in several areas. Limited access to specialists, a lack of menopause resources, and the need for more clinical support when on GLP-1s or undergoing hormone therapy is standing in the way of women's pursuits of healthier lifestyles — and it's costing both them and their employers in engagement and productivity.
The future of women's health will not be defined solely by better benefits or more point solutions, according to Stacey Mennillo Dieterle, a healthcare strategist and women's health advocate. It will be defined by whether employers and health plans can finally connect the clinical and economic realities, as well as the everyday lived experience of women, into a system that encompasses the full picture.
Read more:
Simplify benefits
According to a recent survey of more than 1,000 working adults by Catalyst, a global nonprofit focused on advancing women in the workplace, more than 400,000 women left the U.S. workforce between January and August 2025. It's not just a lack of support that's driving women out in droves, it's also the difficulty of understanding and accessing the resources available to them when they are at work.
From implementing more robust voluntary benefits, better financial wellness efforts, and improved benefit navigation strategies, employers need to rethink how they support women through the life challenges that can push them out of work.
Read more:
Prioritize professional development
Women now hold just 31% of senior leadership roles, according to recent data from professional services firm Grant Thornton, down 4% from recent years. In addition, women continue to struggle against inequitable leave policies that don't work with their needs and inflexible schedules that make it hard to juggle their personal and professional lives. As a result, despite there being clear data that shows greater investments in women result in better business outcomes, the current workplace landscape has instead stunted their career growth and caused severe burnout that leads to high turnover rates.
The responsibility of bridging that gap for women will fall predominantly on leaders and their commitment to creating productive and engaging workplaces for everyone.
Read more:
