She Leads - Women’s Leadership Programme
“The business case for equitable workplaces is well established. Research consistently shows that When women only programmes are thoughtfully designed and integrated with organisational strategy, they play an important role in accelerating gender parity.”
Mary Gregory
Why Women Only?
Women continue to navigate distinct systemic and cultural countercurrents at work – many of which are subtle, cumulative and difficult to name. Programmes designed specifically through the lens of womens lived experience create the psychological safety needed to honestly explore these dynamics, build confidence and strengthen leadership capability.
Women only spaces enable participants to speak openly, test ideas and learn from peers in ways not possible in mixed settings. The peer connections formed frequently continue well beyond the programme itself, strengthening networks and collective lead
Approach
She Leads is not about fixing women. It is about supporting women to strengthen personal authority, leadership presence and strategic capability – enabling them to contribute fully and visibly and to lead in ways that are authentic and effective.
The programme is modular and can be delivered online or in person and can be adapted to align with your particular needs and outcomes. It is typically supported by a blend of group learning (interactive, experiencial workshops), individual and group coaching, ensuring insight is translated into everyday leadership practice over time. Psychometric tools can be included where appropriate.
To maximise impact, programmes are complemented by line manager or sponsor sessions, helping position the programme well within the organisation, strengthening internal support, mentoring, accountability and cultural development.
Area’s covered
Designed to increase women’s awareness of how to proactively take ownership of their careers and leadership, by working with some of the common counter-currents they encounter, including:
· Reduced visibility, leading to being overlooked for progression, despite performance
· Erosion of confidence through repeated exposure to bias
· A pull towards operational delivery at the expense of strategic contribution
· Hesitation to take risks, seek stretch opportunities or make ambition visible
This is not a alack of ambition or capability. It reflects the impact of systems and culture that can quietly contrain progression over time.
Impact
There is a great saying which is “Equity is a tide that lifts all boats”. When women leaders are supported to lead with confidence, clarity and strategic intent, the impact is felt well beyond individual participants. Organisations benefit from stronger leadership capability, better decision-making and cultures that make full use of available talent.
Specifically the She Leads programme helps organisations to:
· Strengthen the leadership pipeline by retaining and progressing experienced women
· Increase the visibility and impact of women leaders at senior levels
· Reduce the hidden costs of disengagement, confidence erosion and underutilised talent
· Build leadership capability aligned with organisational strategy and values
· Reinforce a culture where inclusion, accountability and performance go hand in hand.
Case Study
Elevating women in leadership - A leadership development program empowering women and creating greater gender parity in medium to large organisations.
Context
My interest in women’s leadership and their challenges comes from my personal experiences with biases in the corporate world. In 2012, while working at Penna’s talent practice, creating their first Women in Leadership program offer. The program is always evolving based on research and feedback and I have continued to deliver it as a niche offering as an independent coach and facilitator. Over the past decade, I have delivered this program to over fifteen corporate clients (names include Network Rail, Saputo, G.E., CISCO) running repeat programs and impacting the lives and careers of thousands of women.
Program Overview
The design is grounded in research and references highlighting women's obstacles. It is exclusively for women and consists of four full-day workshops:
Career Activism
Confidence and Resilience
Authenticity, Brand, and Impact
Being Strategic
Strength scope psychometric and 360 support workshops three and four.Individual and group coaching provide support for applying learning.
Sponsorship and advocacy from the most senior leaders is part of the programme set up and running alongside, are allyship workshops for line managers and others interested in understanding the challenges faced by women, openning eyes to cultural norms and how become champions for equity in the workplace.
The program's objectives include enabling women to:
Take control of their careers
Develop confidence and resilience to navigate workplace culture and biases
Build their personal brand, enhancing their influence and impact
Work and contribute more strategically
Strengthen their network of support and create a learning community
Impact
Feedback illustrates remarkable improvements for the women attending their organisations. This includes excelling in job interviews, attaining senior positions, achieving work/live balance, an overall boost in confidence, having tricky conversations, enabling others and a more strategic contribution. I have also facilitated the creation of supportive communities within the organisations they work and increased visibility of women in the enterprise. This has helped improve the organisation’s reputation and recognition as an employee of choice.
At a glance
Challenges:
Lack of diversity at senior levels
Loss of key talent
Unconscious bias
Women feeling unrecognised, finding it tricky to get ahead
Results:
Clarity around career ambitions and a plan to fulfill these
Confidence to take risks and stretch themselves
More comfortable with self advocating and increasing visibility
More strategic on multiple levels
Increased visibility and contribution of women across the business
“Mary was an outstanding facilitator and coach. Truly inspiring, she is a leader in her field, who has created an incredibly impactful programme.”
Olga Maksimenko, Programme Manager, Network Rail
“The time you’ve given will have a huge positive impact on my career. Before this course I was struggling. Now I feel I’ve grown and I am thriving.”
Holly Wainwright, Project Training Advisor, Saputo Inc
What I Do
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Executive Coaching
Confidential high level coaching that strengthens leadership clarity, presence and impact in complex environments.
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Strategic Leadership and culture partnership
Partnering with executive teams to align leadership behaviour, culture and strategy for sustainable performance.
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She Leads - Women's Leadership & Gender Equity
Designing and delivering initiatives that strengthen women’s leadership capability and embed gender equity in everyday culture.
