By Bethany Ainsley, Founder of Nuvo Wellbeing and OptiMe.
International Women’s Day is a powerful reminder of how far we’ve come, and how far we still have to go.
But real progress is not built on awareness alone. It is built on decisions, the everyday strategic choices organisations make about how women’s health is protected, how ambition is enabled, and how wellbeing is embedded into culture.
When women are supported in their health, ambition and wellbeing, the impact extends far beyond the individual. Teams strengthen, cultures evolve and performance becomes sustainable.
This is not symbolic. It is strategic.
Globally, the economic case is clear. UN Women reports that closing gender gaps in employment and leadership could add trillions to the global economy. But beyond macroeconomic impact, there is a direct organisational truth; when women are supported to perform at their best, businesses perform better. Yet many workplaces still operate within systems that were not designed with women’s lived realities in mind.
Health and Wellbeing is a Business Issue
UK data shows women consistently report higher levels of anxiety and common mental health disorders, while also navigating complex life stages, from fertility and pregnancy to menopause and caregiving. Yet many of these experiences remain invisible at work. Support is inconsistent, conversations are uncomfortable, and the pressure to perform does not ease.
The issue is not capability, but capacity. Talented women scale back, pause progression or leave altogether. Supporting women’s health and wellbeing is not preferential treatment, it is the removal of unnecessary barriers.
Practical steps organisations can take include:
Introduce clear menopause and reproductive health policies.
Equip line managers to handle health conversations confidently.
Normalise flexible working without career penalty.
Provide accessible counselling and wellbeing support.
Ambition without Penalty
Ambition in women is still interpreted differently in many workplaces. Assertiveness can be misread as aggression, and confidence misinterpreted as difficult. Career breaks, whether for maternity leave, caring responsibilities or health can quietly slow progression in ways that are rarely acknowledged. Visibility can also come at a cost. Women who want to progress can feel pressure to be constantly available, consistently exceeding expectations in order to be seen as leadership material.
For female entrepreneurs, the pressure can look different but feel just as intense. Women who build businesses often carry financial risk, caregiving responsibility and leadership accountability simultaneously. In the UK, female-founded businesses still receive a disproportionately small share of venture funding. The expectation to continually prove credibility can be constant. High-performing women, whether in the workplace or running their own ventures, do not lack drive or capability. What they can lack, are fair systems that enable sustainable success.
A practical starting point is this: make progression criteria explicit and assess performance against impact. Review promotion outcomes following maternity leave or career breaks to ensure progression has not quietly stalled. In entrepreneurial settings, widen access to funding networks and actively invest in female founders with clear, transparent decision-making.
International Women’s Day should not simply be a moment of recognition. It should be a catalyst for better decisions. Decisions that protect health and wellbeing rather than test its limits. Decisions that enable ambition without relying on overextension or risking burnout. When organisations design systems where women can thrive without compromise, they strengthen leadership, retain talent and futureproof performance. When women thrive, we all gain.
bethanyainsley.com