Let’s look at the statistics. Women account for 45.1 % of the workforce and yet:

• Women still only make up 16.7% of the FTSE 100 and 10.9% of the FTSE 250 boards Lord Davies’ review and subsequent report

• Only 5.3 % of women are employed in any Science, Engineering & Technology occupation, compared to 31.3 % for all working men. Science, engineering and technology
• “Women are less likely than men to be working in engineering and technology roles six months after graduating from undergraduate engineering and technology courses.” Jobs for the Boys

So what is the challenge?

This tiny selection of statistics illustrates that women are still under represented in a number of areas. The issues that face women are complex and lack of performance certainly isn’t the problem. The authors from most reports sight a number of things that are lacking including:

• Confidence
• Sponsorship
  
• Networks
• Profile / Visibility
• Applications for Key Roles
• Pushing themselves forward
  

If you unravel this – it all comes down to one thing, if you don’t know how to network and raise your profile, you are far less likely to succeed as a senior person. Go to our “What is Networking” research page to find links to the various reports on women in business.

Why does it matter?

“Companies with more women on their boards were found to outperform their rivals with a 42% higher return in sales, a 66% higher return on invested capital and a 53% higher return on equity.” Women on Boards 2010

What can we do to help you?

Heather White can show women how to network through training, coaching or speaking at your conferences or events. She will help build their confidence and show them the strategies and skills they need. Her approach is always based on what is authentic and right for the individual – there is nothing vanilla about her programmes at all.

All of our coaching, training and speaking is tailored to your needs.  If you would like to hear more about any of the above please contact us so we can chat about the options in more detail.

Organisations and Women’s groups Heather White has worked with:

Accenture, AT Kearney, Better Bankside, BT, Capco, Connecting Women in Technology (which is a woman’s collaborative between the top technology businesses Dell, CISCO, Microsoft, Oracle, IBM, HP, Avaya & Google), eBay, Ernst & Young, European Professional Women Network, everywoman, GE CAS, KPMG, Metropolitan Police Service, Nomura, RBS, Royal Mail, Women in Technology.

What the clients said:

Ruth Ursell, Senior Regional Manager Global Storage Solutions, UK and DCS at Dell - “Heather was the key note speaker at the recent Connecting Women in Technology Event where the theme was the Power of the Network. She was an entertaining and knowledgeable speaker, sharing her experiences with us in an honest and open way. Her presentation also included some inter-active sections which heightened the engagement for her audience. She also had prepared well and spoken to members of the project team to understand our requirements and deliver to those. Would be delighted to work with her again” 

Chantal Constable, Director, Capco -  “Heather provided a 90minute action packed session for the Capco Women’s Network on “The Art of Better networking”. Her fresh, interactive approach to networking, focusing on “what can you give” rather than “what can you gain” meant even the most senior colleagues in the room walked away with a fresh set of tools and confidence with which to utilise when networking. Heather came highly recommended, received excellent feedback from the Capco participants and as such I would thoroughly recommend her as a trainer, facilitator and speaker. Thanks Heather!”