What Women Can Do

Women need to fully commit to their careers and continue to pursue leadership opportunities as they progress in their career path. Women can take a number of steps for themselves: Early-Mid Career • Women should look for a suitable person (man or woman) to mentor them and support them as they look to climb the career ladder.

• Acquiring a sponsor is a very important step when women are at the early-mid stage of their careers. A sponsor plays a vital role in making connections to senior leaders and promoting an individual’s visibility.

• Gravitas and speaking skills are important, but “presentation of self” is one of the most critical aspects to concentrate on at this stage. Women need to ensure they take time to develop this.

• It is helpful to join networks at this stage, not least to develop the skills and awareness of the importance of broader connections. Ideally, the networks are cross-company and/or include men as well as women.

• None of these elements can substitute for strong technical skills and competency. Becoming invaluable as a contributor is the most important foundation stone for a successful later career.

• If you are considering a family, speak up about how you remain ambitious to progress at work –pre-empt any unconscious bias by ensuring you are transparent about your goals.

Mid-Senior Career

• Further your networking and development of more senior contacts across industry. Ensure these include men as well as women.

• Seek candid feedback about your executive presence and address any issues. Ensure throughout that you combine authenticity with enough conformity to be ‘in the game’ – this needn’t require any compromise of self but it is important to be conscious of how you are perceived and what might be required to be considered for promotion.

• Continue to be forthcoming about your ambition. If you have or are considering children ensure you are clear to others about your overall priorities. Speak up if you feel excluded or passed over for promotion or not recompensed fairly.

• If you are given a career development opportunity, start by thinking ‘yes’ and believing you can and should take it, rather than focusing on any drawbacks.

• If you are not achieving success where you are, plan strategically and proactively – either within your existing firm or how to take the next step externally.

• Seek a sponsor who is more senior than you and who will champion you with others. The credibility of a senior sponsor cannot be over-stated.

• Join the Cranfield or the Financial Times NED programmes. These won’t substitute for the experience and skills needed to be considered for board roles but can help show you’re serious and give you a clear and useful insight into governance and the role of a NED.

• Ensure you know your ‘sales pitch’ when applying for higher level roles. Ideally, ask a head-hunter or senior professional to review your CV and also to conduct a mock interview – it may sound ‘junior’ but the feedback from head-hunters is that many women undersell themselves. To quote Virginia Bottomley, Chair of search firm Odgers Berndtson’s Board and CEO practice, ‘women are often backwards about coming forwards’. The search firms can also give you candid feedback about whether you are ‘board ready’.

• Remember companies are keen to appoint well-qualified women to senior and board roles; there is a great deal of effort now to balance both boards and executive committees. Again, you need to have the credentials but there is strong appetite for your skills.