#EmbraceEquity: Why Equal Opportunity Isn’t Enough This International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day 2023 centers on the theme #EmbraceEquity, a deliberate shift away from the language of “equality.” The distinction matters: equality aims to give everyone the same resources, while equity recognizes that people start from different places and require tailored support to reach genuinely fair outcomes.

“People start from different places, so true inclusion and belonging require equitable action.” — internationalwomensday.com

For engineering organizations, the conversation is especially pertinent. Unconscious bias remains a significant hurdle for women in technical fields, and it’s worth spending time this month understanding the concrete mechanisms that hold women back—not just at the hiring stage, but throughout their career trajectories.

Understanding the Gap Between Equity and Equality

A useful starting point is the well-documented gap in promotion rates. Data from the Women in the Workplace report by McKinsey and LeanIn.Org shows that for every 100 men promoted from entry-level to manager, only 87 women are promoted—and that number drops to 82 for women of color. These disparities compound over time, which is why representation thins out at each successive rung of the corporate ladder.

Another layer is intersectionality, a framework coined by legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw. The term describes the “double bind of simultaneous racial and gender prejudice” that women of color experience—a combination of biases that cannot be understood by examining race and gender separately. The five-minute explainer with Crenshaw is a practical resource for teams looking to build shared vocabulary.

Within tech specifically, a survey from Girls Who Code and Logitech found that 90% of women report experiencing microaggressions at work. The report, titled What (and Who) is Holding Women Back in Tech?, also identifies key career drivers and underscores the value of peer support communities in mitigating attrition.

How Womenflare Is Observing the Month

At Cloudflare, the employee resource group Womenflare is running a slate of March programming built around equity and allyship. The group, which serves women and their advocates, has organized internal events that mix celebration with structured discussion:

  • Comedy kickoff: A “Workplace Variety Hour” from Laugh.Events provides stand-up and musical comedy to open the month on a lighter note.
  • Equity and allyship forums: Joint sessions with leaders from other ERGs (Asianflare, Nativeflare, Proudflare) explore how equity applies across differing intersectionalities.
  • Leadership panel: Women in senior roles across Cloudflare share experiences and discuss where equity efforts can have the most impact.
  • Ongoing community events: Book clubs, meetups, Cloudflare TV episodes, and networking sessions extend the conversation through the rest of March.

The broader point extends beyond any single event: championing an equitable workplace is a year-round responsibility, not a calendar obligation. For teams looking to put this into practice, the first step is simply acknowledging that a one-size-fits-all approach to support—however well-intentioned—will leave some people behind.