Deloitte’s focus on representation does not end with our own organisation. We believe that we have a responsibility to be a force for good and to lead the way on the complex challenges that stand in the way of women’s equity in wider society. As part of our WorldClass societal impact agenda, we are empowering women and girls around the world, as brought to life in Deloitte’s first Global Gender Impact Report, launched on International Women’s Day in 2020. This included stories showing the power and impact of education, sponsorship and mentorship and the ‘butterfly effect’ that takes place as a result—a theme we continued to highlight for International Women’s Day in 2021 and concluded in 2022 when we focused on the simple everyday acts we can all take to Be the Butterfly and make an impact. The 2023 IWD campaign, “I’m a woman and…” was a call to action for each of us to commit playing our part in stopping the assumptions that are still too often made about women.

Deloitte also conducts research into critical gender equality-related issues. Building on a 2020 pulse survey of nearly 400 women across nine countries, in May 2021 Deloitte Global published its inaugural Women @ Work: A Global Outlook report, which surveyed 5,000 working women (outside Deloitte) across 10 countries to gain an insight into the state of gender equality in the workplace; this report provided a significant insight into the impact of the pandemic on the lives of many working women, along with other critical issues that were affecting women’s experiences at work. The second survey report, published in April 2022, identified - amongst other findings - emerging challenges related to the impact of hybrid working on women, high levels of non-inclusive behaviours at work and significant levels of stress and burnout. The 2023 report, while providing some glimpses of improvement in burnout levels, experiences of hybrid working and incidences of non-inclusive behaviours, also provided a picture of continuing concern across these and other areas, including women’s health. Each report also sets out a data driven insight into the positive impact on women when their employers get it right - along with recommendations for change.