Women @ Work 2025:
A Global Outlook
Women are estimated to account for 50.1% of the global working age population, yet make up only 40% of total employment and just 35.4% of management positions globally according to International Labour Organisation figures. So, what is holding them back from entering and staying in the workplace—or progressing to leadership roles? How do we harness the power that women can bring to enable business success?
Key findings at a glance
Now in its fifth year, the Deloitte Global 2025 Women @ Work: A Global Outlook survey sought the views of 7,500 women in workplaces across 15 countries in an effort to answer these questions. The result is a data-driven, global insight into women’s experiences at work—and into the aspects of their lives that could affect these experiences, such as health and domestic responsibilities.
Health and well-being
- Only around half of women describe their mental health as good, and four in 10 women say they feel able to switch off from work.
- The majority don’t feel comfortable discussing or disclosing mental health challenges at work and almost 90% of respondents believe that their manager would think negatively of them if they told them they were experiencing such challenges.
- Just under 60% of women rate their physical health/well-being as good or extremely good. However, around a quarter (24%) of women experience health challenges due to menstruation, menopause or fertility challenges. For many of these women, their experience at work is one of working through high levels of pain and symptoms without taking time off.
- Of those who do take time off, many do not feel comfortable discussing these health challenges with their manager or disclosing the real reason for their absence. Indeed, only around one in 10 of all survey respondents believe that their manager would know how to respond if they spoke to them about challenges with their menstrual health or menopause.
- Some women are able to access workplace accommodations, such as a flexible schedule or other forms of support through workplace health benefits. For example, 63% of all respondents report having access to paid leave and support in accessing care for premature birth.
Household responsibilities and care
- Women who live with a partner hold the greatest level of responsibility at home for cleaning, childcare, caring for other adults, shopping for household items, and managing finances. And this trend continues for many of the 36% of these respondents who are the primary earner in the household.
- Just under four in 10 respondents say their workplace benefits include paid carer’s leave or flexibility to take time off for unexpected caring commitments.
- However, around four in 10 respondents say they are concerned about the cost of care for adults or children. Of women who currently have childcare responsibilities, less than two in 10 say they have access to affordable care. And 16% of women with caring responsibilities have had to take time off work unexpectedly because of these responsibilities in the past year.
- The challenge of access to care is creating a missed economic opportunity for businesses. Estimates based on the survey data and publicly available data indicate that a lack of access to care results in more than 2 million lost workdays annually, equating to a potential missed economic opportunity of US$16.5 billion.1
In your household, who has the greatest responsibility for each of the following tasks?
- This figure is an estimate based on the average number of unplanned days taken for caregiving each year (as reported by survey respondents) combined with publicly available data on the number of employed women in each survey country, and the average daily salary. ↵
Read the full report for more detail on these trends and others affecting the experiences of women at work.
Download Women @ Work 2025: A Global Outlook
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