I’m now in my late sixties and have run an HR and training consultancy for more than three decades. Over that time I have watched UK employment law evolve from a patchwork of separate race, sex and disability statutes into the Equality Act 2010, and seen mandatory gender pay gap reporting arrive in 2017. Because my business advises employers on people management, keeping up with equality law and employee relations is part of my day job. Yet while the statute book has expanded, I am not convinced that day-to-day behaviour has moved as far or as fast.

Male allyship in UK business is still treated as a nice-to-have rather than a commercial necessity. That is a mistake. For a fuller picture of where women in business stand today, see our Women in Business: Key UK Facts page. The latest FTSE Women Leaders Review 2024 reports that women now hold 42.1% of FTSE 350 board seats, up from 12.5% in 2011. The FTSE 100 has already passed the 40% target. Yet the same review found that women held only 13.2% of FTSE 350 chair roles, 8.2% of chief executive positions and 34.7% of executive committee seats. Our own analysis of board diversity and women’s path to CEO explores why board representation has not translated into the top job. Meanwhile, the Office for National Statistics puts the median gender pay gap for all employees at 13.1% in 2024. Progress is real; parity is not.

You might imagine that women are being parachuted into senior roles without the right experience. Nothing could be further from the truth. The pipeline is full of qualified women; what is often missing is sponsorship and a culture that lets them advance. The 2024 House of Commons Treasury Committee report, Sexism in the City, found that three-quarters of women working in finance had experienced sexism at work, and that male-dominated networks continue to shape who gets promoted. That is not a talent problem; it is a culture problem.

One persistent difficulty is that equality law is still largely designed to penalise offenders rather than to educate organisations or support genuine culture change. The Equality Act gives individuals the right to seek redress, and employment tribunals play a vital role, but litigation alone does not give managers the skills, confidence or incentives to build inclusive teams. We need more than rules and punishment; we need a practical plan for change, backed by support for those who do not yet understand it, feel uncomfortable with it, or might quietly undermine it.

Take a moment to reflect on what it means when senior leaders, however small a minority, still regard women as a risk rather than an asset. Those individuals will influence thousands of careers over their working lives. They will mentor, promote, allocate budgets and set the tone for entire departments. They will also pass their assumptions on to their children and grandchildren. Is it really so hard to accept that women can contribute as much as men? And when will we finally dismantle the unwritten male code that discourages men from challenging other men in public, even when their behaviour is clearly out of order?

I was reminded of this recently when reading responses to the Treasury Committee’s Sexism in the City report. Several comments asked why women were not doing more to fix the problem themselves. It is a familiar refrain. From my observations, men still often expect women to change society and to fight injustices against women, as though it is women’s work to fight for women’s issues. That expectation is as common in boardrooms as it is anywhere else.

It is strange that so many men do not see gender equality as their responsibility too. Perhaps it is because privilege is invisible to those who hold it, or because change can feel like loss. Whatever the reason, it creates a structural problem. If men wait for women to drive change, they are ignoring a basic reality: in most businesses and communities, men still hold the majority of senior leadership, budget and influence. Women cannot remove barriers that men built and still control.

What male allyship in UK business looks like in practice

That is why diversity needs more men; not as saviours, but as allies, sponsors and advocates. Real change happens when male leaders use their influence to challenge biased decisions, sponsor talented women, insist on transparent pay processes and call out everyday sexism. Programmes such as the Women in Finance Charter and UN Women’s HeForShe campaign show what is possible when senior men make gender equality a personal priority. For practical steps on building an inclusive culture, see our Diversity and Inclusion UK: A 2026 Small Business Guide.

• Challenge the meeting dynamic. Notice who is interrupted, who gets credit for ideas and who is asked to take the minutes. Speak up when you see inequity.
• Sponsor, don’t just mentor. Mentoring gives advice; sponsorship opens doors. Use your influence to put women’s names forward for stretch assignments and promotion.
• Audit pay and progression. Push for transparent pay bands and promotion criteria. If the data reveals a gap, fix it.
• Model flexible working. Normalise part-time, job-share and remote roles at every level so caring responsibilities stop derailing women’s careers.
• Call it out. When you hear sexist jokes, dismissive comments or coded language such as “he’s a safe pair of hands”, challenge it calmly and clearly.

The question is no longer whether men should be involved, but whether they are willing to lead. Legislation has given us the framework. Data has given us the evidence. Male allyship in UK business is the missing link. What we need now is courage, especially from men, to turn good intentions into everyday action. Until that happens, diversity will remain a women’s issue rather than a business imperative. And our economy will continue to miss out on the talent, ideas and leadership that women bring.

How senior men can turn allyship into action

• Review your latest gender pay gap data and publish it if you employ 250 people or more. Smaller firms can still run the same analysis voluntarily.
• Ask your HR team or adviser to map sponsorship opportunities for women against promotion and board succession plans.
• Set a visible target for women in leadership and report progress internally every quarter.
• Sign up to the Women in Finance Charter or a sector equivalent if it exists in your industry.
• When you hear biased comments in meetings, intervene with a question rather than a lecture. “What do you mean by that?” is often enough.