International Women’s Day is a valuable opportunity to pause and reflect on progress – celebrating achievements, sharing stories and recognising the contributions women make across workplaces everywhere. This year’s theme, Give to Gain, is a compelling one. It encourages us to think about the everyday actions that help women build confidence, gain visibility and progress in their careers.

Careers often develop through small but meaningful interactions – the kind that might only take a few minutes but can stay with someone for years. Perhaps someone spends time sharing honest feedback with you, invites you into an important conversation, or puts you forward for an opportunity. In our work with organisations across different sectors, we often see how small moments like these can shape someone’s confidence and career trajectory.

This International Women’s Day offers a chance to reflect on the practical behaviours that support women’s development every day at work. When organisations actively invest in developing and advocating for their people – especially those whose contributions may be less visible – the gains extend far beyond the individual.

Here are five practical ways to bring this year’s theme to life in your business:

Give clear, specific feedback early & often

One of the most valuable things someone can receive at work is clear feedback they can learn & grow from. Despite this, feedback is often vague, delayed or simply not shared at all. People don’t always hear what specifically worked, what made an impact or what they could do to strengthen their approach next time.

It goes without saying this matters for everyone, but research consistently shows that women often receive less actionable feedback than men, especially regarding leadership potential or advancement. Rather, feedback tends to focus on personality as opposed to impact or development.

One simple way to make feedback more useful is by using the SBI model (Situation – Behaviour – Impact). This structure ensures feedback is specific, objective and constructive.

As an example. Instead of saying:

“You weren’t clear enough when discussing the project timeline”

Try saying:

  • Situation – “In yesterday’s client meeting when we were discussing the project timeline…”
  • Behaviour – “.. you moved through your points very quickly and didn’t pause to give the client a chance to respond”
  • Impact – “.. this meant some of your suggestions didn’t land as clearly as they could have. Slowing down slightly and pausing to ask questions or ask for input will help the client engage more with your ideas”

Feedback like this helps people understand specifically what to do differently next time (or do more of). When women receive clear developmental insight, they are much better positioned to grow and advance.

Give Visibility

Another key factor that shapes career progression is visibility. Many talented people assume that if they work hard and perform well, their contributions will naturally be recognised. In reality, workplaces often reward those whose work is visible in key conversations and meetings.

Visibility is about ensuring people’s contributions are recognised in the right places.

Leaders can play a vital role in this by actively amplifying the work of others. This might be by giving people the opportunity to present their work or lead updates in key meetings, or recognising individual contributions publicly, or highlighting when someone has done a good job.

For example, instead of giving an update on a project task yourself in a meeting, you could say:

“Evie is leading this piece of work and is doing a great job of pulling this together – Evie, would you like to talk us through your progress?”

Or you may encourage involvement from individuals when discussing future opportunities:

“Catherine ran a similar training session on this topic and delivered it well. It might be helpful for her to be involved in shaping this session for business.”

These small actions help to ensure strong work, particularly the work of women who may be less confident in self-promotion, is recognised.

Give sponsorship, not just mentoring

Mentoring is of course a valuable way to gain advice and guidance, but sponsorship is often what accelerates careers. A sponsor will use their influence and advocacy to actively advance someone’s career.

This could be putting someone forward for a stretch project, advocating for them in promotion discussions or other decision-making forums, or introducing them to networks and key contacts they might not ordinarily have exposure to.

Many career opportunities arise for individuals when someone has advocated for them informally – a leader saying “she handled communications with the previous client extremely well, I’d recommend her as a strong choice to take ownership of this project.”

Businesses can be more intentional in ensuring leaders actively champion talent. Consider asking the below questions in talent discussions to bring this to the fore:

  • Who are we advocating for?
  • Whose work are we highlighting?
  • Who could benefit from more exposure?

When women are advocated for in decision-making rooms, and when sponsorship becomes more deliberate, everyone gains.

Give opportunities for individuals to stretch themselves and grow

Many capable individuals hesitate to put themselves forward for opportunities or new challenges unless they feel 100% ready – and often that moment of feeling “ready” never quite arrives. This is particularly true for women, who often underestimate their readiness or ability.

Organisations can support by creating opportunities for people to step slightly beyond their comfort zone. This could be asking someone to lead part of a client meeting or inviting someone to present their work to senior stakeholders, or by giving someone ownership of a key initiative.

These experiences go a long way in helping people build confidence through doing, rather than waiting or holding back until they feel fully prepared.

Organisations can support this by:

  • Identifying stretch opportunities across the business
  • Encouraging managers to delegate meaningful responsibility
  • Creating development programmes that focus both on capability and self-belief

Real learning and growth happen when people are given the opportunity to stretch their skills and face challenges head on.

Give time for meaningful career conversations

Giving dedicated time and attention to career conversations can have a significant impact on someone’s confidence and direction.

Sometimes simply asking someone “what kind of opportunities would you like more exposure to?” or “what areas would you like to develop?” can help individuals to reflect on their goals and ensure they feel supported about their career direction in the short and long term.

Businesses can help prioritise these conversations by:

  • Encouraging managers to have regular development discussions (not just once or twice a year during performance reviews)
  • Creating peer learning or mentoring opportunities
  • Hosting internal speakers to share their own experiences and lessons learned

Supporting individuals to think about their development and progression helps drive engagement and growth.

Meaningful progress rarely comes from one big gesture. More often, it’s the small, everyday actions – the feedback we give, the opportunities we offer, the people we advocate for, and the conversations we take time to have.

When organisations and individuals intentionally “give” these moments of support, visibility and development, everyone gains. Teams become stronger, talent is better supported, and workplaces become environments where people feel confident to contribute and progress.

What’s one practical action you could take to help someone else grow?