LEOPARDS AND LIONESSES: THE ILLUSION OF GENDER EQUALITY

FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH - N°17
Paloma's travel diary 

Dear Readers, 

I reflect on the past month, during which my travels have taken me to Brussels, Paris, Marseille, Geneva, and Luxembourg. Each city has offered unique insights and experiences, enriching my perspective as we approach International Women's Day on March 8th, 2025 – a topic, as you know, so dear to my heart. 

"If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change." - Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, The Leopard 

This profound quote resonates deeply with the current state of women's rights and gender equality. In this 17th edition of "For What It's Worth," we explore how the push for progress and the subsequent backlash are shaping our world, much like the tumultuous changes in 19th-century Sicily depicted in The Leopard. 

What's Up in the Global Economy? 

"We were the Leopards, the Lions, those who'll take our place will be little jackals, hyenas; and the whole lot of us, Leopards, jackals, and sheep, we'll all go on thinking ourselves the salt of the earth." 

This quote eerily mirrors the current economic landscape, where progress and regression seem to dance in a jeering tango... confirming my beloved Piazzolla’s famous adage that tango is for the ear rather than the feet: 

The Woke Wave: Impact of Progressive Movements 

• By 2025, approximately one-third of the U.S. workforce is employed in States meeting or exceeding the $15 minimum wage standard. 

• Washington, D.C., and ten States have implemented minimum wages of $15 per hour or more, a significant increase from 2023. 

• In 2023, 21 States implemented wage increases, affecting about 9.2 million workers. 

The Normality Swing: Pushback Against "Woke" Ideologies 

• The term "woke" continues to be weaponized as a pejorative by political figures to critique policies centered on social justice and identity. 

• Legislative actions aimed at restricting discussions on race and social equity in educational institutions have increased from 2023 to 2025. 

• By 2025, there is a growing cultural clash and ideological tug-of-war surrounding identity, social justice, and education's role in shaping an inclusive society.
   

In the Corridors of Power 

"Everything needs to change, so everything can stay the same." 

This paradoxical statement from The Leopard perfectly encapsulates the current state of women in leadership. While we focus on progress in some areas, the overall picture remain stubbornly unchanged: 

Business Leadership (the Boardroom Mirage) 

• Women now occupy 1,275 (43%) of roles on FTSE350 company boards, up from 40% in previous years. 

• Women hold 6,743 (35%) of leadership roles at FTSE350 companies in 2025. 

• The number of women Finance Directors in the FTSE350 increased from 48 in 2023 to 57 (22%) in 2024. 

• However, FTSE350 women CEOs decreased slightly from 20 in 2023 to 19 in 2024. 

Political Leadership 

• By 2025, more women are in managing director and leading roles, making up 27% of such positions, an increase from 21% in 2022. 

• In a surprising turn of events, the Trump administration has appointed several women to key positions: 

• Susie Wiles as the first woman White House Chief of Staff in U.S. history 

• Kelly Loeffler as Administrator of the Small Business Administration 

• Brooke Rollins as Secretary of Agriculture 

• Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence 

• Pam Bondi as Attorney General 

• Kristi Noem as Secretary of Homeland Security 

• Still, equality remains a far cry, despite François Holande’s forgotten feat of a France’s first-ever gender-balanced cabinet under Jean Marc Ayrault. 

Basics on the Regulatory Front 

We insist: "For things to remain the same, everything must change." 

Recent legislative changes affecting women's rights paint a picture of progress tinged with resistance: 

Updates to Equality Laws 

• The EU Gender Balance on Corporate Boards Directive aims for 40% of non-executive director positions to be held by the underrepresented gender by June 30, 2026. 

• Another “update” is Donald Trump’s Executive Order, signed on January 21, 2025, revoking previous affirmative action requirements for Federal contractors. 

Quotas for Women on Corporate Boards 

• EU Directive 2022/2381 (whose tellingly modest title is “on improving the gender balance among directors of listed companies”) sets a target for large listed companies of 40% of the underrepresented gender among non-executive directors and 33% among all directors. The deadline for transposing the Directive into national law was only 28 December last, so it’s too early to tell how many EU Member States designed “effective, proportionate and dissuasive” penalties as required. 

• In France, a study found that the 2011 gender quota law led to a significant increase in female board representation. 

• The UK continues to lead with voluntary action, achieving 43.4% women's representation on FTSE 350 boards, up from 42.1% in 2023. 

Parental Leave Policies 

• Singapore has introduced enhanced parental leave policies, including mandatory 4 weeks of paternity leave for eligible fathers. 

• Several countries have followed Finland’s example to make maternity leave conditional on the partner taking parental leave. 

• France will implement a new family leave scheme from 2025, offering better compensation for parents following maternity and paternity leave. 

Anti-Discrimination Measures 

• California has introduced new legislation for 2025, including SB 1137, which explicitly recognizes "intersectionality" as a basis for discrimination claims. 

• EU Directive 2023/970 requires companies to share information on salaries and take action if their gender pay gap exceeds 5%... or rather will as of the 6 June 2026 transposition deadline. 

• The UK Employment Rights Bill will make it unlawful to dismiss pregnant women and new mothers for six months after returning to work, except in specific circumstances. That is a big step further than the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Fors of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) that prohibits dismissal during pregnancy and is still not applied in roughly 50% of countries in Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. 

The Gender Pay Gap: A Persistent Challenge 

Despite efforts to address wage disparities, the gender pay gap remains a stubborn issue: 

• In 2023, women earned 21.8% less on average than men, after adjusting for various factors. 

• The gender pay gap for all employees stood at 13.1% in 2023. 

• In 2023, women who were full-time wage and salary workers had median weekly earnings of $1,005, which was 83.6% of the $1,202 median for men. 

• The aformentioned Directive 2023/970 will require EU companies to share information on salaries and take action (don’t hold your breath: they must conduct a joint pay assessment and share it with workers and their representatives) if their gender pay gap exceeds 5%. 

• Some organizations have adopted transparency measures, observing a reduction in gender wage gaps by up to 7% over two years. 

In My Humble Opinion... 

"I belong to an unlucky generation, astride between two worlds and ill-at-ease in both. And what is more, I am completely without illusions." 

Like the aristocratic family in The Leopard, we find ourselves in a world where change is inevitable, yet the underlying power structures often remain intact. The appointment of women to high-profile positions in traditionally male-dominated spheres is encouraging, but we must ask: Does this represent true progress, or is it merely a façade of change to maintain the status quo overall? 

The cyclical nature of progress and backlash we are witnessing mirrors the themes in Lampedusa's novel and, naturally, Visconti’s all-star film version we chose as our theme this month. Just as Don Fabrizio Corbera, Prince of Salina, grapples with the changing social order, we too must confront the reality that true equality requires more than surface-level adjustments. It demands a fundamental reimagining of our societal structures and values. 

As we celebrate the achievements of women this International Women's Day, the 109th since this date was chosen, let us also recommit ourselves to the ongoing struggle for genuine equality. Like the young Tancredi in The Leopard, we must be willing to embrace change to preserve what is truly important. For in the end, it's not about maintaining appearances, but about creating a world where everyone, regardless of gender, can thrive. 

Until next time, dear readers, remember: in the grand ballet of progress, we are all both the leopards and the jackals. The question is, which role will we choose to play? And should we be content with either? 

*"The story of our lives is not our lives; it is our story." - Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, The Leopard