Shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, who is speaking at the first Opportunities 4 Women financial sector conference, admits there is a void in work being carried out amongst women in mid-to-senior-level management: "We need more women in executive jobs and far more women getting promoted to senior positions throughout our major organisations."
Representing almost half the western workforce, with half the bachelor degrees and almost half of all higher degrees, women are still grossly under-represented at all levels of management, particularly within the finance sector. According to the 2012 Women in Banking survey undertaken by the Institute of Leadership & Management, only 11% of women currently hold senior financial positions, compared to 28% within other sectors.
Mindful of these inequities, Opportunities 4 Women's career day will concentrate on advising, empowering and engaging women in the finance sector by offering delegates career-coaching sessions, workshops, mentoring, and advice from inspirational female speakers already in top management positions.
Hosted by BNP Paribas, and produced by leading diversity-based publishing and events company Square Peg Media, the conference will take place on Tuesday 11 June and is an essential part of a wider movement to change our global business environment. The Home Office recently commended Opportunities 4 Women for providing events that offer long-term solutions to gender issues in the workplace, improving staff retention and building a strong and diverse talent pool.
Despite a recent increase in work being done with potential female board members, there is a void below that level. It is this pipeline of female talent that the conference aims to empower: without confident career women who can structure their progression upwards, there will be no female executives ready for the highest positions in commerce and industry.
The career day and programme aims to give practical advice and specifically tailored strategies that can be taken back to the workplace, and their renewed confidence and re-focusing will be of benefit to both them and their employers. Following the conference, attendees will also benefit from a year's additional support through a variety of career development resources, networking and mentoring services. Previous events received positive endorsement from attendees: 93% of women said they would take action to progress their careers.
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