Women’s Expectations for Equality Are Falling Fast

Hey HR Pros!

Despite years of progress and public commitments, new data shows women’s confidence in achieving pay parity, leadership roles, and flexibility is rapidly declining.

In this edition, we highlight the latest global findings and what they reveal about the growing disconnect between policy and lived experience for women at work.

Upcoming In This Issue:

• 🤝 Mentorship or Meltdown: Why Gen Z's Confidence Crisis Should Be HR's Wake-Up Call

• 💡 HR Learnings | What Top Leaders Say About Hiring in a Tight Job Market

• 🎙️ Today’s Featured Podcast: How Microsoft Uses People Data to Shape Flexible Working

• 📉 New Report | Women’s Expectations for Equality Are Falling Fast

Is It Time to Re-evaluate Your HR Software?

The tool that once worked for your team might now be slowing things down. If it’s creating more work than it saves, here’s how to find a better fit.

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🤝 Mentorship or Meltdown: Why Gen Z's Confidence Crisis Should Be HR's Wake-Up Call

Remote work, disjointed teams, and a fragmented workplace culture have made it harder than ever for young professionals to get the hands-on guidance previous generations took for granted.

If your company is skipping over mentorship, you may be sabotaging your future workforce. Here’s where the real wake-up call begins:

Key Takeaways

• 📉 3 in 4 Gen Z lack mentors — Despite being the most educated generation, 75% of Gen Z say they lack access to career mentorship.

• 🧠 Confidence is collapsing fast — Only 41% feel confident navigating today’s job market, and that drops even further without mentors guiding them.

• 🎓 Mentorship bridges education gaps — 83% say mentors help translate classroom lessons into real-world skills they can actually use.

• 👥 Family can’t fill this gap — 65% say a non-family mentor changed their career direction — parental advice alone isn’t cutting it anymore.

read the full 796-word article here

💡 HR Learnings | What Top Leaders Say About Hiring in a Tight Job Market 

For HR professionals looking to refine hiring practices or coach managers more effectively, the guidance from Walmart’s Chief People Officer offers a timely lens into what top-performing candidates have in common — and what behaviors quietly eliminate them from contention.

Here’s what executives across industries are actually looking for:

Key Insights

• 🚫 Negativity is a dealbreaker — Walmart’s HR VP avoids hiring “Debbie Downers,” or anyone who focuses on problems without proposing solutions.

• ⏱ Reliability wins — Top performers consistently deliver on time and show initiative, signaling both dependability and engagement.

• 🔥 Problem-solvers stand out — Proactive candidates who tackle issues before they escalate are prized across leadership circles — not just at Walmart.

• 🌟 Optimism is non-negotiable — Leaders at Disney and Whole Foods echo the same value: optimism and resilience are core traits of top hires.

read the full 675-word article here

😄 Comic Relief (HR Edition)

🎙️ Today’s Featured Podcast: How Microsoft Uses People Data to Shape Flexible Working

☕️ Grab a cup of coffee and plug in to today’s featured podcast:

📉 New Report | Women’s Expectations for Equality Are Falling Fast 

Source: Lifting the Second Glass Ceiling Report 2025

In the latest 2025 data, women are reporting significantly lower confidence in achieving pay parity, leadership roles, and workplace flexibility than they did just two years ago.

While equal pay has been widely endorsed, the gap between policy and practice remains stubborn. For HR leaders, the findings signal more than just a dip in morale — they point to deep systemic gaps in support, especially around health, caregiving, and leadership access.

Key Insights

• 💸 Pay parity confidence drops from 57% to 42% — Global optimism among women about achieving pay equity has sharply declined since 2023.

• 🚺 Leadership confidence plunges 14 points — Only 46% of women now believe they’ll reach leadership roles at the same rate as men.

• 🏠 Flexibility expectations down to 43% — Confidence in receiving flexible work and caregiving support dropped from 59% in just two years.

• 🩺 60% never hear menopause mentioned — And even fewer hear about fertility, miscarriage, or menstruation support from their employers.

read the full 559-word article here