Gender equity | 6 in 10 employers fall short on women's progression or retention

Six in ten UK employers fail to progress or retain women in line with their 49% share of the UK workforce, according to the 2026 Women in Work Gender Equity Measure (WiW GEM) Report, produced with LinkedIn.

The findings combine LinkedIn analysis of 3,855 UK employers with Women in Work’s tracking of 400 of the UK's largest companies.

LinkedIn’s analysis found that 65% of senior roles are filled from outside the organisation, from male-skewed talent pools, with external hiring widening the gender gap. Meanwhile, 43% of new senior leadership appointments go to women.

Women account for 49% of manager-level talent but just 40% of promotions into senior leadership, showing that the pipeline narrows well before the boardroom. At 61% of companies, women are underrepresented in VP-level roles and above.