Women in Leadership: How Companies Are Breaking Down Barriers and Creating Opportunities

Every year, we celebrate women in leadership.

We share statistics.We spotlight inspirational founders. We talk about ambition and resilience.

But how often do we look at what companies are actually doing to make leadership more accessible to women, not just aspirational?

The barriers women face at work aren’t always loud or obvious. They are often structural and subtle, and baked into systems that were never designed with equity in mind.

In this blog we’re sharing 5 ways companies can impact women’s progression in the workplace, and spotlighting the organisations that are redesigning the system and putting the work in to make a measurable difference.

1. Making career progression transparent

One of the most persistent barriers women face is not capability. It’s clarity.

In many organisations, progression into senior roles still relies on informal sponsorship, visibility to the right people, and unwritten expectations about what leadership looks like. Promotions can feel like they happen behind closed doors or through “tap on the shoulder” moments. That ambiguity disproportionately disadvantages women, particularly those working flexibly or balancing caregiving responsibilities.

Forward-thinking companies are choosing a different approach. 

At Mott MacDonald, their Women in Leadership programme actively supports the progression of women into senior roles through tailored development and has helped them in making the list of The Times Top 50 Employers for Gender Equality. They also offer two further programmes, Emerging Leaders and Aspire.

The Emerging Leaders programme is Mott MacDonald’s global flagship leadership development initiative, designed for aspiring leaders. It’s aimed at colleagues who demonstrate exceptional leadership talent and have the potential, readiness, and aspiration to accelerate their development towards the most senior roles in the company.

Aspire is a 12-month pilot development programme which launched in January 2026. It is designed to support and accelerate the progression of ethnically diverse colleagues at grades D–E across EUNA who are interested in building their leadership capability. The programme combines workshops, coaching, peer support, and visibility with senior leaders to create meaningful development opportunities. The programme aims to remove barriers by:

• Providing structured, targeted development support
• Increasing access to senior leaders and decision-makers
• Building confidence, leadership presence, and influence
• Creating clearer pathways into future leadership roles

This programme forms part of their broader commitment to creating a more equitable and inclusive organisation where talent from all backgrounds can thrive.

When progression is transparent, it becomes accessible. And when it’s accessible, it becomes fair. Transparency is not just good for equity. It builds trust, improves retention, and creates confidence in the system.

2. Redefining what leadership looks like

For years, leadership has been associated with long hours, constant visibility, office presence, and an always-on availability that is difficult to sustain.

That model excludes many talented people by design.

In 2026, progressive companies are challenging the idea that leadership must look a certain way. More organisations are measuring performance by outcomes rather than proximity, focusing on impact instead of hours logged.

Airbus is one example of how visibility matters. Through initiatives like Women in Motion, Airbus actively celebrates the women driving meaningful change across its organisation. Showcasing female leaders does more than inspire. It signals clearly that leadership is diverse, achievable and visible.

BT Group is another strong example of visibility-led action. Through its HER campaign, BT has been shining a spotlight on women’s career journeys across the business, from apprentices to senior roles, showing diverse paths and celebrating women shaping growth and innovation across functions. The campaign brings real stories of women’s leadership into view, helping future talent see what is possible and normalising non-linear career progression.

When organisations amplify real stories of women in senior roles, they reshape the narrative of who leadership belongs to. And when leadership models evolve, they open the door to broader participation.

3. Investing in mentoring and coaching as a growth strategy

Support matters. But it needs to be structured, intentional, and ongoing.

Companies that are serious about helping women progress are investing in mentoring and coaching as part of their leadership strategy. That means creating formal mentoring programmes, providing access to executive coaching, and ensuring women at mid and senior levels have space to develop confidence, influence and strategic skills.

When mentoring and coaching are embedded into leadership development, rather than offered as optional extras, women are better equipped to step into senior roles with confidence and support

BAE Systems is paving the way for future generations of women in tech through their commitment to helping women progress. We spoke with Gwyneth, a Delivery Manager at BAE Systems, about her journey in tech, the challenges she’s faced, and how she’s helping to pave the way for future generations of women in the industry. You can read more here. 

4. Empowering women at every career stage

Leadership progression does not start at senior level. It starts much earlier. And it needs to be supported all the way through; something which Vodafone illustrates particularly well.

At a time when corporate leadership is under increasing scrutiny to deliver real progress on gender equity, Vodafone is setting a clear and measurable benchmark. The company has committed to ensuring women hold 40% of management and leadership roles by 2030; a target that is already reflected at Board level, signalling that this ambition is driven from the very top.

Today, women occupy more than 36% of management and leadership positions across Vodafone globally, marking significant progress toward its 2030 goal. By embedding this target into its governance structure, the organisation demonstrates that gender balance is not a peripheral initiative, but a strategic priority tied to long-term performance and accountability.

Beyond representation, Vodafone is also breaking down structural barriers that have historically limited women’s career progression. It has introduced a suite of pioneering global programmes designed to support employees at every life stage. These include progressive flexible working policies, enhanced maternity and parental leave that encourages shared caregiving responsibilities, a comprehensive Menopause Toolkit, and a robust Domestic Violence and Abuse policy.

Together, these initiatives reflect a broader understanding of leadership; one that recognises that creating pathways for women to thrive requires not only ambition at the top, but meaningful support throughout the organisation.

But strengthening the pipeline also means supporting women when their careers pause or pivot.

Career breaks, particularly maternity leave, remain one of the most critical moments in leadership progression. Too often, experienced talent returns to reduced scope, slower progression or quiet assumptions about ambition.

Organisations that are serious about female leadership are addressing this directly. They are introducing structured return-to-work programmes, offering leadership re-onboarding support, providing coaching during transitions, and ensuring clear pathways back into senior tracks. BT’s returner programme is making a significant impact in this space by offering structured support to those looking to re-enter the workforce. 

Leadership journeys are not always linear. And they do not have to be.

5. Making flexible work the norm for everyone 

Flexible working cannot just be something offered to women.

When flexible working is seen as a “special arrangement” for working mums, it unintentionally reinforces inequality. It keeps caregiving coded as female and maintains the pressure on women to adjust their careers around family life. 

The real shift happens when flexibility becomes the norm for everyone, including working dads. Dads now spend three times as much time with their children compared to fathers in the 1960s. Yet workplace policies and cultural expectations haven't always kept pace with this evolution.

When men are actively encouraged to take parental leave, adjust their hours, and work flexibly without stigma, the dynamic changes. Care responsibilities become shared. Leadership is no longer tied to constant availability. And progression is no longer dependent on who can be physically present the longest.

That cultural shift directly supports women’s progression into leadership because it removes the expectation that they must carry the majority of caregiving while also competing in rigid career structures.

Redesigning leadership pathways for women to thrive

The companies making meaningful progress are not relying on symbolic gestures. They are investing in development, amplifying visible female leaders, strengthening pipelines from early careers through to returners, redesigning leadership models, and normalising flexibility across their workforce.

The question is not whether companies value women in leadership. It is whether they are willing to build the systems that make it possible.

Because when barriers are intentionally broken down and opportunity is actively created at every stage of the journey, leadership becomes something more people can realistically achieve.