Supporting Employee Career Development

If you REALLY want to support women in the workplace, you need to start: → Offering flexible work arrangements, especially to support mothers. → Encouraging women to go for internal promotions → Paying women fairly and transparently → Creating environments where women’s voices are heard → Calling out microaggressions and biases when you see them → Offering leadership training and mentorship for women → Rethinking how performance and ambition are measured (not just who shouts the loudest) → Making networking and career progression opportunities accessible to all → Championing women even when they’re not in the room → Reviewing your hiring and promotion processes to eliminate bias → Creating policies that support women through all life stages (not just maternity leave) → Holding senior leaders accountable for diversity and inclusion goals → Ensuring workplace policies support women’s health, including menopause and period policies International Women’s Day should be about real, tangible action. Too often, we see businesses celebrating IWD while their leadership teams are still male-dominated, pay gaps persist and workplace policies don’t support women’s real needs. So, if you’re a business leader, hiring manager, or even a colleague... Ask yourself: What are you actually doing to make the workplace more equitable for women? 🤔

Louder for the people at the back 🎤 Many organisations today seem to have shifted from being institutions that develop great talent to those that primarily seek ready-made talent. This trend overlooks the immense value of individuals who, despite lacking experience, possess a great attitude, commitment, and a team-oriented mindset. These qualities often outweigh the drawbacks of hiring experienced individuals with a fixed and toxic mindset. The best organisations attract talent with their best years ahead of them, focusing on potential rather than past achievements. Let’s be clear this is more about mindset and willingness to learn and unlearn as apposed to age. To realise the incredible potential return, organisations must commit to creating an environment where continuous development is possible. This requires a multi-faceted approach: 1. Robust Training Programmes: Employers should invest in comprehensive training programmes that equip employees with the necessary skills for their roles. This includes on-the-job training, mentorship programmes, online courses, and workshops. 2. Redefining Hiring Criteria: Organisations should revise their hiring criteria to focus more on candidates’ potential and willingness to learn rather than solely on prior experience or formal qualifications. Behavioural interviews, aptitude tests, and probationary periods can help assess a candidate's ability to learn and adapt. 3. Partnerships with Educational Institutions: Companies can collaborate with educational institutions to design curricula that align with industry needs. Apprenticeship programmes, internships, and cooperative education can bridge the gap between academic learning and practical job skills. 4. Lifelong Learning Culture: Encouraging a culture of lifelong learning within organisations is crucial. Employers should provide ongoing education opportunities and support for professional development. This includes continuous skills assessment and access to resources for upskilling and reskilling. 5. Inclusive Recruitment Practices: Employers should implement inclusive recruitment practices that remove biases and barriers. Blind recruitment, diversity quotas, and targeted outreach programmes can help ensure that diverse candidates are given a fair chance. By implementing these measures, organisations can develop a workforce that is adaptable, innovative, and resilient, ensuring sustainable success and growth.

Hello LinkedIn ! Imagine sitting in a job interview for a multinational company and being asked: "Are you planning to get married?" "Do you intend to have children? Now, ask yourself: Would a man be asked the same questions? Despite all the progress we claim to have made in workplace equality, these intrusive and discriminatory questions still exist. They send a clear message: a woman’s career potential is evaluated not by her skills, experience, or ambition but by her personal life choices. The Cost of Ambition: What Are Women Expected to Sacrifice? For women in male-dominated fields, like oil and gas, the reality is even harsher. What kind of job requires a freshly married woman to be sent to the field for seven or more weeks without flexibility? Is this about business necessity, or is it a failure to accommodate diverse career paths? I've been witnessing some sad stories of incompetent managers forcing a freshly married woman to stay in the field more than here rotation schedule basically "6 weeks" in the cost of her own mariage !!!!! The real issue is NOT women’s ability to handle demanding roles. Women have proven, time and again, their competence in high-pressure environments. The real problem is the systemic unwillingness to adapt workplace policies to support employees regardless of gender who want both a successful career and a fulfilling personal life. Men are rarely asked about their marital status or parental plans. Why? Because corporate structures were built with their careers in mind. But when a woman steps into the same space, she is expected to prove that she won’t “disrupt” the system with her life choices. Companies love to highlight their Diversity & Inclusion initiatives. But true inclusivity is not about hiring women just to meet quotas it’s about ensuring that they don’t have to justify their personal lives to keep their careers. If we want real progress, we must shift the conversation: - Stop penalizing women for wanting both a career and a family. - Stop questioning their commitment to work based on their personal choices. - Start designing policies that support all employees, men and women, in balancing career ambitions with personal fulfillment. This is not just a women’s issue it’s a workplace fairness issue. And it’s time for companies to catch up. Let’s break the cycle. Let’s demand change. #Diversity #Inclusion #WomenInLeadership #BreakingBarriers #WorkplaceEquality #WomenInSTEM #WomenInEnergy #WomenInTech #GenderEquality #EmpowerWomen #CareerGrowth #WomenInBusiness #WomenInOilAndGas #WorkLifeBalance #EqualOpportunities #Leadership #RepresentationMatters

Work shouldn’t cost you the things that matter most. Too often, people sacrifice their health, relationships, and happiness for their jobs. On Thanksgiving let's get that balance right. But the most successful professionals understand this simple truth: Work and well-being can coexist. Here are 5 principles to create a fulfilling work-life balance: 1. 𝗦𝗲𝘁 𝗡𝗼𝗻-𝗡𝗲𝗴𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 → Define your work hours and stick to them. → Protect your personal time like it’s a crucial meeting. 2. 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 → Focus on high-impact tasks and let go of unnecessary ones. → Don’t let fake urgencies derail your priorities. 3. 𝗘𝗺𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗙𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 → Choose roles or policies that allow for remote or flexible work. → Flexibility isn’t a perk—it’s a necessity for well-being. 4. 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗕𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝗢𝘂𝘁 𝗦𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 → Speak up about unreasonable workloads or toxic cultures. → Companies that prioritize well-being listen to employee feedback. 5. 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲𝘀 → Choose roles and employers that align with your personal mission. → Success without fulfillment is a sign to reevaluate. Your work shouldn’t cost you your joy or health. What strategies help you balance work and life? Let me know in the comments below 👇 --- ♻️ Find this helpful? Repost for your network. ➕ Follow Dr Alexander Young for more tips on leadership, workplace culture, and career growth.

Why is it that even in industries dominated by women employees, men rise to the top of the most prestigious and influential organizations? One answer is career escalators. “Career escalators” points to the practices, structures and norms that move a person upward in their careers. However, as research by many, including Prof. Christine Williams shows in her research, “glass elevators” are hidden advantages for men to advance in women-dominated fields. As Cathleen Clerkin, PhD reveals, a broad look at nonprofit workers reveals a slight advantage for men in leadership. Women represent about 70% of employees yet only 62% of leaders. The real gap, however, shows up when you look at size of the non-profit, as measured by revenues. Men nonprofit CEOs oversee nearly twice the revenues as women (~$11M vs. ~$6M). And men CEOs earn on average +27% more than women CEOs. Having worked with many nonprofit boards on their hiring practices, bias is a concern in recruiting CEOs and board directors. Preference for the “think leader, think male” can give an implicit advantage to White men, resulting in disadvantages or de-accelerators for women and BIPOC men. Often those concerns are expressed in donor networks, strategic thinking, vision and public persona -- all of which are important and yet the evaluation of who can do them can be fraught with biases. What can you do? The author suggests many important strategies. ✔ Check for biased language and treatment in the hiring process.  ✔ Track demographic data.  ✔ Be transparent about pay.  ✔ Create clear career matrices.  ✔ Have explicit conversations about career goals.  ✔ Sponsor women and give them challenging opportunities. When we make these often invisible accelerators visible--and work towards creating clear, equitable and transparent access to them--we can come closer to achieving our intention of creating remarkable and inclusive organizations.  Research by Candid. Article published in Harvard Business Review.

The biggest misconception I see about change management is that it’s only about people. Yes, people matter. But focusing only on mindset, buy-in, and communication misses the point. Because in most organisations, it’s not people holding change back. It’s the environment they’re working in. - The systems haven’t changed. - The tools still slow things down. - The incentives reward the old behaviours. - And the ‘unwritten rules’ still tell people to play it safe. That’s why the real job of a change manager isn’t just to support people through change. It’s also to design for it. That means: - Looking at the system, not just the individual - Removing friction that makes new behaviours harder - Using evidence to guide decisions - Shifting from “how do we get people to change?” to “what’s stopping them?” The best change managers understand this. They don’t just manage the rollout, they shape the conditions. They show up as system thinkers, problem solvers, and enablers of progress. Because lasting change doesn’t happen by chance. It happens by design. 📌 If you’re tired of being undervalued and overlooked as a change manager and, you've done the qualifications and need something to take you to the next level, get in touch. I run programmes for both individuals and teams. It's time to stop doubting yourself. Book your space now: https://lnkd.in/eQj9MBTV ------ ♻️ Repost to share with your network 💡 Signup for my newsletter and get insights like this straight to your inbox: https://lnkd.in/eESS94TS

The saying “It’s not what you know, but who you know” still holds true for career progression, but for women, building those all-important connections comes with extra hurdles. Research published in the Academy of Management Journal, highlighted by Harvard Business Review, shows that women face greater barriers than men when it comes to forming high-status networks. One striking finding? Women are 40% less likely than men to form strong ties with senior leaders after face-to-face interactions. Traits like assertiveness and confidence—often linked with leadership—are judged through a traditional gendered lens, which means women's and other marginalised genders contributions can be overlooked. So, what’s the solution? Women can leverage third-party introductions, which often carry implicit endorsement and help sidestep these biases. In fact, the research shows women are more likely than men to succeed in building high-status networks through shared contacts. Organisations also need to step up by creating network sponsorship programmes, where leaders don’t just mentor women—they actively advocate for them, opening doors and making introductions that help women advance. It’s time for organisations to rethink how they approach networking. By fostering more inclusive, proactive strategies, we can break down barriers and create a level playing field for women to build the connections that will drive their careers forward. Let’s turn "who you know" into an opportunity for everyone. #Networking #GenderEquity #ThreeBarriers

"We urgently need more women building AI technologies, and the fact that women make up less than a third of AI professionals and only 18% of AI researchers globally is a crisis that demands attention. But this isn’t just a pipeline problem; women everywhere need to start using AI tools in their daily lives and work. In AI training programs, women represent just 28% of enrollments worldwide. Studies show women are 16 percentage points less likely than men to use AI tools in the same job. This reluctance creates a dangerous cycle: as women hesitate to adopt these technologies, they fall further behind in both the workplace and a society increasingly shaped by AI.    But this time could be different. The good news? You don't need a computer science degree or corporate backing to start using AI. Many of the tools are free and available to anyone with a computer or smartphone.  Imagine having a mentor available at any hour, offering guidance without judgment. Master new skills at your own pace, free from the weight of imposter syndrome that haunts so many women in male-dominated spaces. This technology could be more than just another tool; it could be the great equalizer we've been fighting for, giving women the support, efficiency, and confidence that the prior systems have consistently failed to provide. We have, at times, had to forge new paths without established role models. This systemic lack of guidance remains a barrier to equality, with women 24% less likely than men to get advice from senior leaders, and for women of color, the gap is even wider, with nearly 60% never having had an informal interaction with a senior leader. With tools like ChatGPT, every woman can now have a mentor in her pocket—one that helps her rehearse difficult conversations and provides the continuous support that was historically only available to those with strong networks. This technology could also be powerful in addressing the confidence gap that has held women back for generations, the self-doubt and internalized societal messages women often carry that undervalue their abilities and discourage risk-taking. Today, we see similar patterns in women's hesitation to adopt AI technologies. But with these tools, it’s possible for women to get feedback on overly apologetic language in their emails, help preparing for salary negotiations, coaching on presentations, and support identifying the achievements they may be underselling on their resumes.  Research shows that when women overcome this initial hesitation, they often outperform their male counterparts. The key differentiator? Not technical skills, but the confidence and a willingness to experiment. Women who ease into using AI—perhaps using generative AI to draft a challenging email or prepare talking points for a meeting—quickly discover how these tools can augment their work and amplify their expertise." Read more 👉 https://lnkd.in/ejEJJjqR #WomenInAI #WomenInSTEM

Career breaks are often cited as permanent pauses in your career. It is important to establish a changed mindset that a career break is not a blank space on your CV. It’s a chapter. Whether it's for family, caring for loved ones, a personal pursuit, or simply needing time to recharge, stepping away from your career is a significant decision. The change in routine, the questioning of your identity, the feeling of being disconnected – it may seem exhausting. A lot of women, including me, experienced this during their maternity break. And then returning to work after a break seems challenging too. It's easy to feel overwhelmed and lost. But here's the powerful truth we need to embrace - " career break," is not a gap on your CV. It's a new chapter filled with experiences that have shaped you, strengthened you, and given you a perspective that's uniquely yours. You've learned invaluable skills, navigated complex encounters, and developed resilience that will serve you well in the future. So how do we normalize taking career breaks and support those on their journey? Here are a few thoughts: 💠 Preparing for a break: Have open conversations with your manager, family, and support network. Think about how you'll stay connected to your industry – even if it's just reading articles or attending occasional events. Most importantly, give yourself grace. This is time for you. 💠 Returning to work: Start small. Reconnect with your network – reach out to former colleagues, mentors, or industry contacts. Update your skills and don't be afraid to ask for help. Remember: Your experiences during your break are valuable assets. 💠 Providing the right environment to return to work: Companies must provide the right environment, tool, resources, and support system for employees to transition back to work, for example, after a long maternity break. Employee resource groups, support from male allies are perfect examples of these mechanisms and help build an equal, inclusive workplace. 💠 Supporting each other: Let's create a culture of support and understanding. Celebrate the diverse paths women take and recognize the strength and resilience it takes to navigate career breaks. Let's mentor, sponsor, and champion each other. Let's share our stories, lift each other up, and keep walking forward together. #KeepWalking #WomenInBusiness #CareerBreak 

1/10 women leave work during menopause because of their symptoms. This costs the UK economy an estimated £1.5 billion every year… Not to mention the personal toll on women’s careers, confidence, and financial security. The data is stark: → £191m is lost annually due to time off work. → £22m lost due to presenteeism (showing up but unable to perform at full capacity). The numbers prove what too many of us already know: untreated and unsupported menopause isn’t just a women’s health issue. It’s an economic issue. It’s a business issue. We’re building The Better Menopause on this very premise - that when women are properly supported with evidence-based solutions, they thrive. And when women thrive, so do workplaces and economies. We cannot afford to keep ignoring the link between menopause, productivity, and economic growth. This is about more than flexible working policies. It’s about creating a culture where midlife women are supported, not sidelined. Because investing in women’s health is investing in growth.