We Ve All Read About the Issues in the Press

Women in Business

We’ve all read about the issues in the press…

International Women’s Day 2015 – A chance to make a difference.

International Women’s Day - 8th March falls on a Saturday this year, so instead of skipping it from our inclusion calendars, we have ‘gone big’ and come up with a week’s worth of engagement activity, which can be run in your organisation with your staff.

We can support you in developing just one of these ideas and help you to make it your own or we can support you in delivering the full package of activities.

Events

You’ve probably attended several ‘Women in business, how do we break the glass ceiling, panel discussion, women rallying events’. And when you looked around the room… you probably saw a lot of nodding female heads. There were probably a lot of great points made, interesting debates on quotas… but did it change anything? In 2015 we are doing things differently, it’s time to get the whole business engaged on these issues, it’s time to acknowledge the past and plan for the future.

Event 1 - 1915 - Looking to the past (100 years)

Concept: Britain in 1915 (100 years ago) was a very different place for women. The Suffragette movement was underway, women were still 3 years away from getting a vote (women over 30) and another 13 years from Equal Franchise Act 1928 that enabled women over 21 to vote and women finally achieved the same voting rights as men.

This event we will examine how the world of work has evolved. What would the world of work look like if women had invented industry? What barriers have been overcome, how far have we really come?

Speaker Suggestions:

Laura Pankhurst – Emmeline Pankhurst’s great- great granddaughter of Emmeline Pankhurst leader of the suffragette movement. Laura is currently studying law - a career “that for many women before me [was] nigh on impossible.”

Event 2 - 1955 - International Women’s Day 1950’s style

Concept: 1955 Mad Men style International Women’s Day celebration. Every woman must be accompanied by a man. This rule is obviously a tongue in cheek nod to 1950’s attitudes to women. In this event we discuss what men can do to make a difference.

Materials for your event:

Event 3 - 2015 - Right here, right now. Progressing the Female Talent Pipeline

Concept: Discussed from a Talent Management approach, this workshop introduces you to the areas you should consider in addressing a gender imbalance, and provides you with a practical toolkit to get you started on the road to building a stronger female talent pipeline.

Facilitator: Elizabeth Rushton - Elizabeth has spent 15 years working in the corporate sector, in a variety of HR Generalist and Talent based roles. She has been successful in aligning talent planning with overall business strategy through the design and implementation of fit for purpose people capability interventions. Recently, this has involved a responsibility for understanding and progressing gender balanced leadership in a traditional male dominated industry sector.

Event 4 -2055 - Our vision what will the future hold?

What will the world of work look like in 40 years? 15 year old women in their final year of school will be 55 in 2055, what does the future of work have in store for them? Engaging the future workforce, we will invite participants from local schools to join the debate and map out a vision for the future.

Engagement Activity

‘I story’ gallery – Women from all levels of the business will be invited to share their ‘I story’ a tool which helps highlights women’s contribution to the business. There is a downloadable ‘white labeled’ I story template to upload to your intranet or get involved in sharing stories in the Inclusive Employers LinkedIn Group and Member’s Lounge.

Notes

Lord Davis report 2011 – Projections for progress in 2015

All Chairmen of FTSE 350 companies should set out the percentage of women they aim to have on their boards in 2013 and 2015. FTSE 100 boards should aim for a minimum of 25% female representation by 2015 and we expect that many will achieve a higher figure. Chairmen should announce their aspirational goals within the next six months (by September 2011). Also we expect all Chief Executives to review the percentage of women they aim to have on their Executive Committees in 2013 and 2015.