Confronting inbuilt inequalities

Deepa Korea, RCN Foundation Director, shares her reflections on International Women's Day 2025.

I have been thinking about this year’s theme for International Women’s Day – Accelerate Action.   

The aim this year is to emphasise how important it is to take swift and decisive steps to achieve gender equality, and to increase the urgency of taking action to address the systemic barriers and biases that women face, both in personal and professional spheres.  

Looking at the sector I work in, there is a preponderance of men in senior roles within the nursing profession. So far, so usual! I have seen this disparity throughout my working life in the public and not-for-profit sectors. For example, when I first became a Director of Fundraising around 20 years ago, the fundraising operations of the UK’s top ten charities were all led by men. This is despite the fact that two-thirds of the voluntary sector’s workforce was female.  

This is an even more marked issue in the nursing sector, where 89% of the nursing profession is female. So addressing the systemic barriers and biases facing women has perhaps never been more pertinent in the professional world that I occupy today.   

But how do we begin to confront the inbuilt inequalities that face us? There is no easy answer and whilst changing the world is difficult, changing how you interact with it is in your gift. As Maya Angelou said “if you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”  

After a career spanning over 30 years, in different leadership roles and across various sectors, here are just some of the things that I have learnt.  

First, being authentic, that is being true to yourself and your beliefs and values, will stand you in good stead throughout the inevitable challenges that you will face. Being authentic means being honest with yourself and others, understanding what you have to offer and having the humility to know where you need to improve.   

Clearly, self-belief is an important factor here, so this leads to my next point, which is to surround yourself with people who will build you up, not knock you down (even if they don’t realise they are doing it!). This doesn’t mean people who will say yes to you all the time, but rather those that will challenge you constructively and with kindness.   

Finally, be thankful! A little gratitude, given genuinely, goes a long way. It can demonstrate to those around you that you lead with integrity, respect and compassion. When was the last time you thanked someone you worked with? 

Although challenges remain, I look forward with hope. After all, as the celebrated author Arundhati Roy said: “Either way, change will come. It could be bloody or could be beautiful. It depends on us.” 

Happy International Women’s Day!