Government Minister Jo Swinson has endorsed the new everywomanNetwork campaign, Ambition Hour, as being vital in helping develop future leaders.
The campaign – launched today – encourages women to take charge of developing their own careers by spending an hour a week exploring career goals and implementing a plan to make them a reality.
The need for women to take personal responsibility for their career development was highlighted in a research report generated by everywoman and Alexander Mann Solutions. The Focus on the Pipeline report showed that 63 per cent of HR leaders want to see women driving their own advancement. However, many female middle managers expect their employers to take much – if not all – of the responsibility for career path clarity and opportunities for progression.
Maxine Benson, co-founder of everywoman, comments: “HR leaders are keen to improve the talent pipeline of women in their businesses and see more women driving their career. One of the most effective ways of doing this is to give women the tools they need to take charge of their own development.
“Ambition Hour encourages women to put time aside to focus on their careers and skills. Corporate membership of everywomanNetwork supports this as it gives female employees access to a variety of online resources including workbooks, case studies and seminars so they get the most out of Ambition Hour.”
Benson adds: “Many organisations are addressing the leak in the female talent pipeline at a time when budget and resource are stretched. That’s why we developed a cost effective and flexible training programme that easily integrates into performance review systems and supports female employees to address crucial development needs.”
Companies such as Asda, Cisco, RBS and TNT are already using the everywomanNetwork to support the development of their female employees.
Jo Swinson, Minister for Women and Equalities, comments: “Drawing on women’s talents is crucial to grow our economy, and the Government is already taking a range of steps to help remove the barriers that hold women back.
“Think, Act, Report is a voluntary scheme that encourages companies to think about women’s equality in the workplace and now covers 1.3 million employees. We are also extending the right to request flexible working and changing the system of shared parental leave.
“The everywomanNetwork Ambition Hour campaign is vital in helping develop the skills of future female leaders. While government can help reform the business environment, encouraging women to invest time in planning their careers will result in a stronger pipeline of talented women coming through that will benefit everyone,” says Swinson.
Credit: onrec.com
