This year’s International Women’s Day, the call to march forward “for ALL women and girls” is playing out in complex circumstances. Some of the world’s largest companies have walked back from Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), while escalating concerns about young men’s health and wellbeing rise. We must rethink how we progress, and that starts by ensuring that everyone is included in the conversation.

In response to President Trump’s executive orders, some of the world’s most influential companies, with reach far beyond the US, have ended or are scaling back policies and programs designed to level the playing field for women and minority employees. They cite cost pressures, political headwinds and a return to “business fundamentals”.

In Australia, legal safeguards – mandatory reporting via the Workplace Gender Equality Agency and positive duty legislation against workplace sexual harassment – insulate us from the most extreme effects. But laws alone cannot create safe and inclusive cultures. As Macquarie Bank director Jillian Broadbent warned last month, ignoring the broader backlash is “tone-deaf”. The DEI counterattack didn’t start with Trump; it’s a reaction years in the making.

Where we went wrong

Almost a decade ago, a University of Canberra study revealed nearly half of men felt workplace gender equality strategies overlooked them and that men and boys were “increasingly excluded from measures to improve gender equality”. Understandably.

In their haste to reap the benefits of diversity, and bombarded by competing business priorities, most leaders moved to action. They introduced a suite of well-intentioned initiatives for women without articulating the rationale for DEI to all employees – improved financial performance, innovation, employee engagement and enhanced market reputation. The barriers impeding equity, from socially conditioned bias to systemic barriers, were also left out. Perhaps most critically, there was little or no discussion of the evidence-based benefits to men – greater work life balance, improved mental and physical health, enhanced relationships – all markers of wellbeing and healthy ageing.

Men’s sentiment has since intensified, especially among Millennials and Gen Z. The Ipsos 2024 International Women’s Day survey found that 60% of Gen Z men across 31 countries believe women’s equality is discriminatory, despite women’s progress persistently lagging.

In Australia, for example, women are still underrepresented in leadership. Fewer than 10% of ASX 200 companies have female CEOs. The gender pay gap persists. Systemic barriers to women’s career advancement remain, largely tied to disproportionate and outdated caring responsibilities. And at least one woman is murdered every week by an intimate partner.

That said, men are also struggling. Men account for three-quarters of suicides, are falling behind in education and face rising social isolation. Further, DEI conversations often paint men with a broad brush. While privilege prevents a level playing field, working-class, culturally diverse or LGBTQIA men don’t experience the same advantage as their straight, white, Anglo-Saxon peers.

The question is, can we overcome the zero-sum thinking that suggests if women rise, men fall, or vice-versa? Yes, we can, and it starts with leadership.

Leaders have a critical role to play

“It starts with why.” Why does diversity, equity and inclusion really matter? Leaders must be familiar with and clearly state the case for DEI, and not simply rely on the HR or marketing team to spread the word.

Leaders must also share their own introspective ‘why’. That typically starts with examining instances of inequity they’ve witnessed in their own lives, or accessing the lived experience of women in their organisation. It also means listening to men – to understand perceptions of discrimination while deeply exploring the threats and opportunities of gender equal workplaces.

Leaders must ‘walk the talk’ – role modelling supportive initiatives: working flexibly, celebrating fathers accessing equal parental leave, profiling talented female colleagues and supporting managers doing the heavy lifting.

Leaders must also ensure DEI programs are fit for purpose, targeting pain points, holding stakeholders to account, monitoring progress and measuring outcomes. Most importantly, they must break down silos and bring men and women together to co-create the kind of culture necessary for inclusion to thrive.

Breaking down silos

What happens when we break down culturally constructed silos and invite men and women to share their experiences and concerns? What happens when we create a safe, non-judgemental space for honest dialogue, exploring the barriers to women achieving their full potential and the benefits to men of equal workplaces, relationships and communities?

When people are offered such an opportunity, conversations shift from frustration to collaboration, from blame to meaningful change. Men and women willingly working together to overcome barriers that hold all of us back. In the words of a senior banking executive, such an experience is ‘transformative’.

Marching forward together with equality for ALL

Dismantling socially constructed gender norms and systemic barriers that hold back women and men benefits everyone. Policies supporting flexible work and parental leave don’t just help women – they grant men greater work life balance by blending professional commitment with a fulfilling family life. They present the freedom to redefine success, unconstrained by restrictive, learned roles limiting the opportunity to achieve our full human potential.

The global sociopolitical context and Australia’s evolving culture is an opportunity for a DEI reset – a new conversation about gender, inclusion and what success truly means. This International Women’s Day, let’s march towards equality for ALL. Full stop.

Coleen MacKinnon is Founder of Inclusivity Quotient, a DEI consultancy engaging leaders in co-creating safe, respectful and high-performing workplaces. Coleen serves as Advisor to the Consult Australia Champions of Change and is a former board member with Women for Election Australia.