Women say international women’s day talk rings hollow without real benefits
Nearly two-thirds of Canadian women say employers treat International Women’s Day more like a celebration than a check-up on how workplaces actually support them, according to new survey data from Benchmark Benefits Solutions Inc.
According to Benchmark Benefits, 64 percent of women believe employers treat International Women’s Day as a celebration rather than an opportunity to assess support for women employees.
At the same time, 75 percent say companies should be open about how they are actually supporting women.
For 83 percent of women, workplace benefits and policies matter more than symbolic gestures around International Women’s Day.
The survey points to benefits design as a key pressure point.
According to Benchmark Benefits, 40 percent of women with benefits say they are not satisfied with their current package.
Another 47 percent report delaying or avoiding healthcare because they did not have adequate benefits, and more than one in 10 women say they have left a job due to inadequate workplace benefits.
Benchmark Benefits president Gisela Carere said “International Women’s Day should be a checkpoint, not a checkbox” and argued that women can easily see when support is symbolic rather than real.
She urged employers to use benefits as “one of the most concrete ways” to back women and said that when coverage, leave and flexibility do not reflect women’s actual life stages, “the gap between intention and impact becomes obvious.”
When asked what should be included in a standard workplace package, respondents highlighted specific priorities.
According to the survey, 91 percent of women say comprehensive mental health services are important, and 87 percent say coverage for women’s preventative health matters.
Another 87 percent point to caregiving support for elder or dependent care. Flexible or reduced work schedules are important to 82 percent of women.
Seventy-nine percent say menopause assessment, treatment and hormone therapy coverage should be included, and 78 percent identify employer-paid parental leave top-up as important.
Carere said the results show the benefits women value most “aren’t perks, they’re foundational.”
She said that support for mental health, caregiving and menopause reflects real life and that investing in those areas “build[s] a workplace that meaningfully recognizes how women move through the world.”
Benchmark Benefits says it ran an online survey of 1,502 Canadian adults, including 770 women, who are members of the Angus Reid Forum from February 9 to 11, 2026, and that a comparable probability sample would have a margin of error of +/-2.53 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
