Today marks International Equal Pay Day, a moment intended to highlight ongoing disparities in workplace gender equality. However, new research from LinkedIn paints a sobering picture of progress in the United Kingdom, indicating that gender parity in corporate leadership remains a distant goal.

The study projects that women are approximately 80 years away from achieving equal representation in leadership roles and 127 years from reaching parity in C-suite positions. Despite ongoing discussions about gender equality, progress has notably stalled since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Data from the report reveal that women constitute nearly half of the workforce at entry level, accounting for 49.6 percent of employees. However, their presence sharply decreases at the highest tiers of corporate management, with women making up just 21.2 percent of C-suite executives.

Sue Duke, Managing Director at LinkedIn, emphasized the magnitude of the challenge, stating that girls born today are unlikely to witness equal representation among top leadership within their lifetime. The findings underscore persistent barriers that continue to limit women’s advancement into senior executive roles, despite decades of advocacy and policy efforts aimed at closing the gender gap in the workplace.