It’s 2025, and as women leaders and professionals, many of us would have expected the gender pay gap to be significantly narrower by now. Yet here we are, still confronted by hard data that tells a very different story. The numbers don’t lie, and they reveal persistent inequalities despite all the advocacy, awareness, and initiatives we’ve seen over the years.
In this article, we will examine the current statistics surrounding the gender pay gap, reflect on the progress made over the years, and explore actionable strategies to further close the gap.
Pay Cheque Reality Check: Where Are We Now?
According to Payscale’s 2025 Gender Pay Gap Report, women earn around 83 pence for every pound men earn, based on raw, uncontrolled data. Even after controlling for factors such as job roles, education, and experience, women are still earning approximately 99 pence compared to their male peers. This lingering gap indicates subtler biases—proof that even equal qualifications don’t guarantee equal pay.
The Heavy Price of Motherhood
Why should choosing to have a family come with a financial penalty? Motherhood remains one of the biggest barriers to pay equity. Mothers earn just 75 pence to every pound earned by fathers, and even when roles and experience levels match, a stubborn gap persists. The situation for highly educated women, notably those holding MBAs, is even more concerning, with these women earning just 77 pence compared to their male colleagues.
Climbing the Ladder: Still a Broken Rung
Promotion inequalities remain stubbornly entrenched. Harvard Business Review highlights how the “broken rung”—the critical step from entry-level to managerial roles—continues to disproportionately disadvantage women. Even when women actively seek promotion, systemic biases frequently result in opportunities going to their male counterparts.
Global Snapshot: A Widening Gap
The EADA Business School’s 2025 Gender Pay Gap Report reinforces what remains a global truth: pay inequality between men and women is far from solved. While more women are ascending to leadership roles worldwide, the wage gap remains entrenched—and in many economies, it’s widening. In Spain, for instance, the gender pay gap has risen to 12.9%, up 1.7% from the previous year. In the European Union, women earn on average 12.7% less than men for equal work, according to Eurostat. In the United States, women working full-time still earn around 84 cents for every dollar earned by men, with Black and Latina women facing even wider disparities. Meanwhile, in South Africa, the pay gap hovers at 23%, with leadership positions in key sectors still dominated by men.
Professor Aline Masuda of EADA puts it plainly:
“Even as female representation in leadership improves, systemic barriers remain—particularly in male-dominated industries and executive ranks. Globally, structural transformation is essential to ensure that women’s career progression does not come at a disproportionate cost.”
These numbers are more than just data points—they are a call to action. Without bold policy reform, corporate accountability, and cultural change, pay transparency alone won’t fix the problem. Women around the world are still being asked to work harder just to earn less.
Progress in Ireland: A Balance Worth Building
Ireland’s ‘Balance for Better Business’ initiative has made noteworthy progress in female board representation. As of 2025, women now hold 40% of board seats among Ireland’s largest publicly listed companies—a significant rise from just 18% in 2018. However, while board-level representation has improved, the percentage of women in senior executive roles has dropped from 27% to 24%. This contrast underscores that while symbolic representation is important, real influence must translate across all levels of leadership.
Transparency Alone Won’t Solve It
Pay transparency laws, designed to reveal and address wage inequalities, have had mixed results. While transparency helps empower negotiation, it hasn’t significantly reduced overall pay disparities. Without actively addressing underlying biases, transparency merely highlights the gap without bridging it.
Take, for example, companies in regions like California or the EU that have enacted mandatory salary bands on job ads. While this has sparked important conversations
and helped narrow entry-level negotiation gaps, it hasn’t shifted the underlying culture of inequality. In some cases, employers simply list wide salary ranges or fail to update internal structures, resulting in minimal impact.
Additionally, research from Harvard Business School suggests that transparency without accountability can lead to complacency. If leadership does not act on the disparities revealed, the information risks becoming background noise rather than a catalyst for reform. True equity requires pairing transparency with real-time audits, performance-based advanc
How to Close the Gender Gap: Actionable Insights
While some hurdles remain, there are clear and effective ways to bridge the gender gap—especially when it comes to pay, promotion, and access to opportunity. Harvard Business Review outlines several strategies that are already helping close the gap in startup financing and broader business environments:
- Implement structured evaluations: Replace gut-feel assessments with clear, objective metrics to measure performance and promotion readiness. This ensures consistency and fairness across all candidates.
- Foster inclusive networking: Build intentional spaces where women are included in the conversations and relationships that drive business deals, promotions, and boardroom access.
- Increase transparency beyond pay: Go further than salary disclosures by clarifying the criteria for promotions, funding decisions, and leadership pathways to prevent ambiguity and reduce bias.
- Champion sponsorship over mentorship: Mentorship offers advice—but sponsorship opens doors. Leaders must not only support women, but actively position them for roles that accelerate visibility, influence, and advancement.
Final Thoughts: The Bottom Line: Where Do We Go From Here?
The gender gap in pay and promotion reflects deep-rooted, systemic issues that demand more than superficial remedies. Organisations need to fundamentally rethink their structures, actively dismantle biases, and commit to sustained change. Equality isn’t a nice-to-have—it’s essential for thriving, equitable workplaces.