Partner Article

ICAEW event help women challenge for top jobs

Harvey Nicholls hosted a celebration of female talent in the region last night as part of new forum to encourage professional women to get talking about where they want to be and what’s holding them back.

Organised by ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales) North West, it was the first ever gathering of women in support of a new finance and leadership programme.

The programme is looking to challenge low pay and low opportunity issues facing women in the professional workplace.

It follows this week’s report from Grant Thornton which found that companies perform better with at least one female executive on the board, a situation the Government is also keen to champion.

The ICAEW programme is designed to encourage women to discuss what’s holding their careers back and equipping women professionals with the skills to navigate, build and lead in a dynamic and ever-changing work environment.

Sharon Thorne, Managing Partner Global at Deloitte and Hilary Lindsay, Deputy President of ICAEW, talked about their careers to date and hosted a lively discussion on long term development opportunities for women.

Also joining them on the Q&A panel was Charlotte Sweeney, who has most recently played a key role in the Lord Mayor of London’s Power of Diversity programme. Diversity and empowerment were common themes all night.

Over 70 women attended the event and were inspired by what they heard.

Melanie Christie, Regional Director for ICAEW said it had been a special night for sharing experiences and meeting like-minded women looking for change. “Helping to connect women with common issues and fast-track careers is what the forum is all about.”

The evening was a warm-up act to a full-blown Women in Finance Conference in February next year which will tackle topics like personal branding, smashing glass ceilings, returning to work with confidence and setting goals with a keynote speech from Charlotte Sweeney.

Charlotte commented last night: “These events are about inspiring women from all backgrounds to take on age-old traditions in the market place and challenge for better futures for themselves based on merit and determination.”

Forum members will be meeting again at John Lewis in Intu Trafford Centre on 3rd December for a workwear workshop with personal stylists from the store, catwalk show and a glass of fizz. Book at www.icaew.com/events or contact alana.briggs@icaew.com

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by James Welton .