As we kick off 2026, we also reminisce about 2025—both its achievements and foibles. What stood out to us was not necessarily your typical results as a business, but rather the movements that occurred affecting women in the workplace. As a women founded, owned, and led organization with 100% of our staff identifying as female, we couldn’t help but take note and to share.  

A Few Steps Forward for the Sisterhood

We were delighted to see more money finally being dedicated to studying women’s health. In August, The Gates Foundation announced a $2.5 billion commitment to women’s health.  Femtech France made newsworthy advancements with commitments in tech and health care. And Melinda French Gates’s organization, Pivotal, teamed up with WellcomeLeap with a significant investment to fund grants to improve women’s health. Better health outcomes for women could ultimately lead to higher productivity, reduced absenteeism, career advancement, and better employee retention. 

Looking at our female entrepreneur peers, well, we’ve been collectively responsible for employing nearly 13 million people and generating $3.3 trillion of revenue in the US, according to Wells Fargo’s study, The Impact of Women-Owned Businesses. While still lower percentages to male-owned businesses, we are all working to close that gap.   

Women’s sports reached incredible heights with WNBA and women’s professional soccer leading the way in revenue growth, attendance, and viewership. Our area benefited from the Tampa Bay Sun Football Club coming on the scene. Welcome to the market, @tampabaysunfc. 

And just as we closed 2025, the news broke that Beyonce became the fifth musician to become a billionaire, joining her husband Jay-Z, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, and my home state favorite, Bruce Springsteen. This achievement demonstrates her incredible musical talents as the most decorated artist in Grammy history along with her business prowess as her “Cowboy Carter Tour” broke country music’s record as the highest grossing tour. Well done, Queen Bey! Her reaction to winning Album of the Year at this year’s Grammy’s was one of our favorite memes of 2025. 

A Few Steps Back

According to the Women in the Workplace 2025 study, only half of companies prioritize women’s career advancement, with 20% saying this was of no or low priority, even worse for women of color. And despite women’s commitment to performing their best, fewer women seek promotion in their careers. Key reasons are they’ve been passed over, the path forward doesn’t seem realistic, or being promoted will probably burn them out. Forbes calls this "a leaky pipeline" as this will eventually result in fewer women in leadership roles.  

The website reproductiverights.gov, which provided information on reproductive health services, was eliminated. Education and awareness on this topic is paramount for women making decisions related to their own bodies, as well as their careers, as the two are tightly interwoven. 

Did Women Ruin the Workplace in 2025? Really, @NewYorkTimes, you hit publish on this? This opinion was overwhelmingly responded to by women in two ways. One, when you design a system to only thrive based on one type of person succeeding, yes, failure is highly likely. In a worldwide culture where diversity is demanded and celebrated, perhaps this writer could have turned his time into proposing solutions to these issues instead of pointing a misguided finger. Secondly, if women wanted to “ruin” anything, I can assure you, we could. Haven’t you heard, hell hath no fury, buddy. 

What Can We Expect in 2026? 

Only time will tell as this new year unfurls. But we can tell you that we are committed to helping other women in the workplace reach their full potential. We are in the process of working on what that looks like and what it means for our constituents—our clients, our team, and our community. In the meantime, if this is something of interest to you as well, let us know. We’re looking forward to fostering more conversations and communication on this topic. 

Lastly, it’s fitting to announce our strategic partnership with Amplify Women Tampa Bay. From our first meeting with Founder Nicole Waters, the synergy between our two organizations was obvious. We are excited to help them promote their experiences, including their third Annual Summit later this year, while we build new connections with the shared goal to help more women in our community thrive. 

Cheers to the New Year!