B&Q celebrates International Women’s Day 2026

This International Women’s Day, B&Q is embracing the global Give to Gain theme by championing the power of giving women opportunity, support and visibility across both its leadership pathways and the wider UK trade profession.

As one of the UK’s largest home improvement retailers, B&Q is taking meaningful action to help women build successful careers across the business. This year, B&Q is highlighting two major commitments: its Women in Leadership Programme – designed by women to support women – and its £1 million investment in trade apprenticeships to create more routes into the trades, where female representation remains low.

Elevating women in leadership

B&Q is committed to increasing the number of women in leadership roles throughout the organisation. This focus is reflected in progress made during 2025, when the company achieved a notable 1.1 percent* increase in female representation at leadership levels. These efforts form an integral part of B&Q’s wider ambition to achieve gender parity across all levels of the business, ensuring women have the support, visibility and opportunities needed to succeed and lead within the company.

B&Q’s Women in Leadership apprenticeship continues to play a pivotal role in empowering female talent. Designed by members of the Women in Leadership Curriculum Council, the programme addresses real life topics that are often overlooked in traditional leadership development such as menopause, fertility journeys, confidence and imposter syndrome.

The programme’s positive impact is clear. For the first time, women now make up 56 percent of B&Q’s apprenticeship cohort, a significant milestone in the company’s ambition to reach gender parity across all work levels.

Angela Peel, Curriculum Council Member and Unit Manager at B&Q, said: “When updating B&Q’s Women in Leadership apprenticeship, our focus was on reflecting the real experiences of women. Embedding real‑life issues like menopause into the programme helps create space for women to connect, share and grow, and marks an important step in how we continue to evolve our support.”

Graduate Apprentice and Unit Manager Katie Bauman said: “In the past, some leadership content did not speak to women’s experiences, especially in male dominated areas where imposter syndrome can be a challenge. What makes this apprenticeship different is how openly it tackles these barriers.”

Tackling the gender gap in the trades

Women continue to be significantly underrepresented in the UK trades. Addressing this imbalance remains a long‑term priority for B&Q, supported by the company’s £1 million investment in trade apprenticeships across carpentry, plumbing, painting, decorating, electrical work and other sectors.

In 2025, B&Q partnered with internationally acclaimed photographer Sane Seven on the Do The Lift Thing campaign, highlighting the importance of greater visibility for women in the trades. The campaign resonated widely and continues to inform B&Q’s approach today, reinforcing how representation and real‑world role models can inspire more women to pursue a career in the sector.

B&Q’s research shows that three quarters of 16-to-18-year-olds don’t know any women working in the trade sector, and over half say that seeing women in these roles would make them more likely to consider the profession. This visibility gap continues to be a barrier that the business is actively working to close.

Despite the company’s investment, uptake of trade apprenticeship funding remains uneven. To date, only two women have applied for funding compared with more than one hundred men. Addressing this challenge remains an ongoing focus. Alongside promoting clearer routes into the trades and improving access to funding, B&Q is continuing to spotlight the women already working within the space and across the wider trade ecosystem, helping to normalise women’s presence and build confidence for the next generation.

One way B&Q is helping to increase that visibility is through TradePoint, its dedicated service for trade professionals. Operating members-only counters in around 200 B&Q stores nationwide, Tradepoint offers personalised, one-to-one support from trade-expert colleagues and Business Development Managers who help members manage orders and projects with ease. Many of these managers are women, providing visible expertise on the shop floor and playing a key role in supporting local trade businesses every day.

One female TradePoint Business Development Manager, Cotty Horvath, supports a portfolio of local trade customers ranging from sole traders to small building firms, helping them plan large product orders, manage repeat purchasing and navigate supply needs for complex projects.

“Working in TradePoint allows me to build strong, long‑term relationships with local tradespeople and support them at every stage of a project, from planning through to delivery. Being visible in this role matters because it shows that expertise in the trades is shared, practical and open to everyone,” said Cotty Horvath, TradePoint Business Development Manager at Plymouth B&Q TradePoint.

A commitment rooted in action

For B&Q, International Women’s Day is not a symbolic moment. It is a commitment to sustained, meaningful action that enables women to thrive.

Ginny Wakefield, E-commerce Director at B&Q, said: “Supporting colleagues to grow and reach their potential is at the heart of what we do at B&Q, we’re committed to investing in our colleagues. Programmes like our Women in Leadership apprenticeship and our women’s leadership mentoring circles, which now include over 3,000 women, enable us to lift each other and level the playing field.”

*2023-2024 42.9 percent, 2024-2025 43.4 percent