The gender pay gap in the UK has widened to 14.5%, PwC’s 2024 Women In Work Index recently revealed, seeing the UK fall from 13^th to 17^th place in the global rankings.

A particularly worrying development for women in the UK’s workforce, pay inequality is, however, a global issue. Yes, gender-based economic inequality is so deeply entrenched into the fabric of so many societies worldwide that, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF), it’ll take a staggering 169 years to close the global economic gender gap.

This prediction only becomes more alarming when looked at in the context that gender inequality is reportedly costing the world around $12 trillion in global GDP.

But, for many, workplace gender inequality extends far beyond pay disparities. From a lack of representation and work-life balance challenges, to harassment, discrimination and glass ceilings gender inequality within the workplace can manifest in many forms. Such biases and stereotyping have proven particularly pervasive within certain industries.

Does gender matter?

Playing into the false narrative of one gender being inherently better than another at a certain task poses a major barrier to dismantling workplace inequality. Aware of this, one study, undertaken by Trinity Business School in Ireland, sought to offer proof that, in the context of creativity, gender doesn’t really matter.

The study, led by Ana Pérez-Luño from Trinity Business School, alongside Rocio Aguilar (Pablo de Olavide University, Spain) and Maria Felisa Muñoz (León University, Spain), explored how personality traits, team dynamics and gender influence creativity. They found that neither men or women are more inherently creative.

Surveying 639 university students, Pérez-Luño and her colleagues found that its actually specific personality traits – such as extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience – that foster creativity, rather than gender.

The researchers aren’t alone in citing personality traits as significant factors in stimulating creativity. Many have pointed to the role of personality in determining creativity levels. In an article published by Business Insider, for example, openness to experience is identified as the single most important personality trait to creativity. Others have suggested that ‘dark’ or antisocial personality traits can make people more artistic.

The researchers did, however, observe that gender could play a part in shaping how personality influenced creativity:

Pérez-Luño and her colleagues noticed the existence of gender-specific nuances – highly extraverted women, were found to be more creative than highly extraverted men, for instance. Meanwhile, less extraverted men were more creative than less extraverted women.

Similarly, less emotionally stable women exhibited greater creativity than less emotionally stable men, and highly emotionally stable men were more creative than highly emotionally stable women.

“This research highlights an important reality: gender does not determine creativity. We must understand how different personality traits influence creativity,” Pérez-Luño says, reflecting on the study. “It also challenges traditional gender stereotypes. Our hope is that this contributes to reducing the gender gap in society, emphasising that both men and women can be equally creative.”

PwC’s 2024 Women In Work Index paints a worrying picture. But, according to WEF, there’s something to hopeful about: via its Global Gender Gap Report, published in 2023, WEF revealed that the overall gender gap had narrowed by 0.3% compared to the previous year.

Each year, 8^th March marks International Women’s Day – a milestone event celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women.

And so, as we stop to recognise the value of women across all walks of life this year, with contrasting snapshots of gender relations put before us, should we be optimistic about the future for gender equality, particularly in the context of the workplace?

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