'Accelerate action' – International Women's Day 2025

According to the World Economic Forum:

'...at the current rate of progress, it will take until 2158, which is roughly five generations from now, to reach full gender parity.'

Yes, it's a depressing statistic — but can you honestly call it a surprising one?

While things may be getting better in some areas — it's clear that more needs to be done, with greater urgency.

Hence the theme of International Women's Day 2025: 'Accelerate action' — a call-to-arms for increased momentum in addressing the systemic barriers and biases that women face, both in personal and professional spheres.

And whether the step you take is a small or sweeping one, every action can help to increase the pace of change.

Awareness from an early age

CICES president Alison Watson MBE outlines some of the challenges that confront women in our profession, even before entering the workplace:  

'Women continue to face barriers that range from unconscious bias in hiring and promotion to a lack of visible role models at senior levels.

'There is still a perception that engineering and surveying require a certain physicality or technical mindset that has historically been associated with men and these outdated notions must be challenged at every level.

'To accelerate progress, we need to be far more proactive in how we promote the profession to women and girls.

'Too many young people have no idea what surveying is or how vital it is to the future of infrastructure, sustainability and digital construction.

'Raising awareness from an early age and embedding surveying into the school curriculum will help to dispel myths and demonstrate the career opportunities available.

'Role models play a huge part in this, and we need more visible female leaders in the sector to inspire and mentor the next generation.

'Beyond education, the industry must also take responsibility for ensuring women are not just hired but retained and supported through career development, flexible working options and sponsorship into leadership roles.'

Support equals success

Echoing the need for flexibility as a mechanism for retaining women, beyond just attracting them, CICES Women's Network chair Genna Rourke FCInstCES comments:

'Organisations and leadership teams should recognise that flexibility is more than just a perk.

'Policies that promote flexible working hours, remote work options and genuine respect for personal time can make a significant difference to retention of women.

'Most importantly, we need to move away from the expectation that success comes at the cost of personal well-being.

'If we create an environment where women feel empowered to set boundaries without fear of judgement, we can build a more inclusive and supportive industry, where no one has to choose between their career and personal life.'

What is CICES doing for International Women's Day 2025?

At CICES HQ in Sale, we held an educational quiz on the historical challenges faced by women and the origins of IWD, in order to increase understanding and awareness among our staff.

And to CICES members, a short survey on the gender pay gap was distributed, in order to provide a better picture of its perceptions and effects among our membership.

This follows our earlier information shared last Autumn on the issue of equal pay.

To learn more about how you can #AccelerateAction for International Women's Day, tap here.

If you're interested in getting involved in the CICES Women's Network, please contact us.