Morning, Friday, 8th July 2022
his conference will look at latest thinking on policy and best practice relating to women's employment and careers.
Areas for discussion include next steps for improving recruitment, progression, and the experience and safeguards within the workplace.
It follows the announcement last November of the FTSE Women Leaders Review, the five-year successor to the earlier Hampton Alexander Review.
The conference will be an opportunity to consider key priorities and ambitions for the Review as it continues, and the way forward following recommendations set out in the Review’s first report Achieving Gender Balance.
We are very pleased to be able to include a keynote session with Ishbel Maclean, Programme Manager, FTSE Women Leaders Review on the progress of the review so far. There will also be contributions from Joeli Brearley, Founder, Pregnant Then Screwed; Haitham Hamoda, Clinical Lead, Menopause Service, Kings College Hospital; and, Chairman, British Menopause Society; and Michelle Last, Partner, Keystone Law.
Overall, the agenda will bring out latest thinking on implications of current trends, development of best practice and priorities moving forwards for:
- organisational leadership - improving female representation at all levels of business ◦ building on the UK’s high ranking for women on FTSE 100 boards ◦ challenges for smaller companies
- career development - provision of routes to progression ◦ professional training & CPD ◦ mentoring ◦ targets & monitoring progress ◦ support into leadership ◦ gender-neutral role descriptions
- pay - closing the gender pay gap ◦ tackling disparities moving forward ◦ reporting
- the pandemic - redressing the disproportionate impact on women’s employment & livelihoods ◦ support & careers guidance for unemployed women ◦ supporting the return to work
- workplace misconduct - tackling harassment ◦ strategies & early intervention ◦ reporting & disciplinary processes ◦ support for victims ◦ tacking root causes ◦ improving organisational culture
- wellbeing - assisting with health-related issues in the workplace ◦ support through changing circumstances ◦ encouraging open discussion
- factors outside work - improving accessibility to childcare for women ◦ the impact of flexible & hybrid working on women’s employment prospects
The conference will be an opportunity for stakeholders to consider the issues alongside key policy officials who are due to attend from DfE; DIT; Department for the Economy, NI; DfT; DWP; Food Standards Scotland; the MOJ and the NAO.