PwC’s latest Women in Work Index 2026 offers a mixed picture. On one hand, the UK has moved up to 17th place in the index and has returned to the top of the G7 rankings. On the other, PwC is clear that underlying progress has stalled, and that progress across the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has slowed to its weakest level since the pandemic.
For those of us working in employability, that tension feels familiar. For certain, headline progress matters, rankings matter, participation rates and pay gaps matter. But so does what is happening underneath those numbers, especially for young women who are still at risk of being excluded from education, employment or training.
What the Index tells us
PwC’s index tracks progress towards gender equality at work across 33 OECD countries and is now in its 15th year. This year, the UK’s female labour force participation rate and gender pay gap both improved. However, the female unemployment rate also rose sharply, which is one reason PwC describes the UK’s overall performance as static rather than transformative.
The report also highlights something that should concern anyone involved in youth employment or welfare-to-work delivery: the growing NEET challenge among under-25s and the specific drivers behind rising NEET levels for young women.
PwC’s analysis shows that low GCSE attainment significantly increases NEET risk for young women, with around one in four young women likely to be NEET due to poor attainment, compared with one in five young men. It also identifies health conditions, including mental health, as a major factor, while noting that the influence of mental health on NEET likelihood is rising for both genders.
The most striking point may be the interaction between these factors. PwC found that young women with both low educational attainment and health conditions are around four times more likely to be NEET than the average young woman. That is not just a labour market story, it is an employability story.
Why this matters for the employability sector
When we talk about women in work, it is easy to stay at a macro level: rankings, unemployment rates, national trends. But in frontline employability services, those figures show up as real people with interrupted education, fragile confidence, caring responsibilities, health challenges and unclear routes into work.
PwC reports that there are now over 957,000 16 to 24 year-olds in the UK who are classified as NEET.
That number should prompt a simple question: what kind of support is needed to change that?
For many young women, employability support cannot begin and end with vacancies or training opportunities. It has to recognise the wider picture. Confidence, readiness, health, flexibility, local provision and how someone presents themselves to an employer all matter. A route into work is only useful if someone can realistically take it.
The role of practical employability support
This is where the sector has a vital role to play. If young women are facing a combination of educational disadvantage, health challenges and inconsistent labour market attachment, then employability support needs to be practical, personalised and connected. That means, we need clear and simple local pathways, support that reflects health and confidence barriers, employer-facing preparation that feels realistic and achievable, and enough advisor time to do more than process paperwork.
One part of this often gets overlooked: the quality of the application itself. A CV may seem like a small thing in the wider policy picture, but for many young women it is the first point at which confidence meets opportunity. If that document fails to reflect strengths, explain disrupted journeys clearly or feel credible to employers, then even good programmes can struggle to convert intent into outcomes.
At Candid, we know that is why consistency and quality in employability support matter. Not because a CV solves everything, but because weak applications can quietly close doors before a conversation even begins.
Progress needs infrastructure, not just ambition
PwC’s report highlights that progress isn’t guaranteed. While participations rates and pay gaps may improve, real change can be prevented if the underlying causes remain.
The same is true in employability. Ambition matters, but delivery matters more. If we want more young women to move into work, training or apprenticeships, we need systems that do more than identify risk. We need practical support that helps turn potential into action. That includes earlier intervention, better health support, stronger employer engagement and enough frontline capacity for advisors to coach, encourage and build readiness.
It also means recognising that job readiness is not only about qualifications. It is also about whether someone feels able to explain their strengths, present their experience and take the next step with confidence.
The UK topping the list of G7 countries is positive. But PwC’s message is clear: progress has slowed and the barriers facing young women at risk of becoming NEET remain significant. For the employability sector, that is both a challenge and a call to action. The question is not just how many opportunities exist. It is whether the right support is in place to help young women access them, believe in them and turn them into real starts. Because progress is not only measured in rankings. It is measured in whether someone who has felt excluded can see a realistic path forward and find the confidence to take it.
Contact us today to talk this through