A topic at the heart of gender inequality within the workplace is career mobility. And questions around whether women have access to the same development opportunities as men, remain top-of-mind for many employees and organisations.

The impact of the pandemic on women is an issue for everyone in the economy, as under representing women in the workforce deprives businesses of much-needed skills, leadership and resources. Today, it’s crucial for employers to support the women in their workforces with greater focus on changing prevailing gender dynamics in the workplace. Here are 10 action steps that can be implemented immediately by organisations to support gender parity.

COVID-19 has had an extraordinary impact on the economy, as well as the landscape of work. In the space of just 12 months, we’ve seen a mass shift to remote working, around 10 million people have been furloughed, and redundancy numbers soared.

In our new COVID-19 reality, the world is experiencing a level of rapid change like never before seen. One thing that has become clear is that the organisations most likely to not only survive the crisis but thrive are those digital-minded companies that poses the ability to quickly assess and make insightful workforce decisions.

Last week’s Budget focused on protecting the economy today and kickstarting the UK’s recovery in the short term, while outlining changes to the Conservative approach to tax in future in order to balance the books after the highest borrowing rates ever seen outside wartime.

Behind every setback, an opportunity can be found. And while the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a chain reaction of setbacks for women around the world, it’s also provided an opportunity to raise awareness about gender inequality in the labour market. New global research from ManpowerGroup sheds light on this, outlining how women’s career trajectories have been disproportionately impacted by COVID and why the risk of a “She-Cession” is real.

The UK’s driving and logistics sector has long been facing a dramatic talent shortage. Even before the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the industry was facing a ‘perfect storm’ of factors contributing to this deficit. A rising reliance on e-commerce and delivery services, an ageing work population, a lack of industry appeal to younger workers, and the impact of Brexit on immigration have all raised drivers to one of the UK’s most sought-after skillsets.

Gender inequality in the workplace is a long-standing issue that remains top-of-mind for many organisations and HR leaders. Recent news has shown that progress is being made, with the number of FTSE-100 female directors rising by 50% in the last five years.