Rights, Justice, Action: Women in Business, International Women’s Day 2026

This International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating the women who start, scale, and sustain the businesses that keep our communities moving.

Women have and continue to play a vital role in business, despite the relationship between the two not always being acknowledged fairly. Yeager (2015) proposes that bringing women’s experiences, agency, and constraints to the core of business discussion and decision making holds the power to transform the field of business and its history by challenging long-standing historiographical biases, and fostering a deeper understanding of how the capitalist sphere has operated differently for women.

The economic impact of women-owned businesses is increasing rapidly, as women-led businesses contribute significantly to national and global GDP as well as job creation, reinvestment, and social value (Brana et. al, 2025). Brana et al. (2025) also cite the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) in their article, identifying that women-owned enterprises are amongst the fastest-growing business demographic worldwide. In turn, this demonstrates that when diverse groups thrive, communities benefit.

The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is ‘Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls’ (UN Women, 2026). This is significant because, over a quarter of the way into the 21st century, women still only hold 64% of the legal rights that men hold worldwide, spanning work, money, safety, family, property, mobility, business, and retirement. At the current pace our societies are working at to bridge the gap and create sustained equity and equality, it will take 286 years to close legal protection gaps (UN Women, 2026). Against this backdrop, gendered access to finance remains a major constraint, especially within venture capital, where in 2024 the global analysis identified that out of the $289B venture capital, only 2.3% went to female-only teams, and 14.1% went to mixed gender teams (Founders Forum Group, 2025).

Within our Innovation spaces, we are committed to creating an inclusive environment that champions every colleague, regardless of gender. Our EDI policies, aligned with the 2010 Equality Act, ensure equitable opportunities for all who work with us and affirm our dedication to celebrating every idea, concept, and partnership fairly. We actively work to reduce structural barriers by offering skills training and networking opportunities, fostering safe and inclusive collaborative environments where diverse perspectives are genuinely valued, and providing targeted support for women-led SMEs.

International Women’s Day asks us not only to recognise the obstacles women face, but also to take meaningful action in dismantling them. By spotlighting structural inequalities, we aim to empower you to choose working environments that actively challenge these barriers. If you’re a founder, a creator, an innovator, or a colleague seeking a place where your ideas are taken seriously and your growth genuinely supported, our Innovation spaces are perfect for you. If you need a place to grow, lead, and thrive, get in touch with us today. Together, we can help build a future where rights lead to justice, and where action creates opportunity for ALL women and girls.

By Lorna McBain

Bibliography:

Brana, Y., Mitra, N., Al Farhad, M.M. (2025). Understanding the Nuances of Women-Owned Businesses in Emerging and Developing Economies. In: Mühlböck, M. (eds) Sustainable Transformation and Well-being. CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance. Springer, Cham. 

Founders Forum Group (2025) ‘Women in VC & Startup Funding: Statistics & Trends (2025 Report)’.

YEAGER, M.A. (2015) ‘WOMEN CHANGE EVERYTHING’, Enterprise & Society, 16(4), pp. 744–769. doi:10.1017/eso.2015.72.

UN Women (2026) ‘International Women’s Day 2026: Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls.’