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Leading Edge Conference Provides the Answers to Achieving Gender Equality at Work

Written by: LoveLocalJobs.com
Published on: 23 May 2018

Fearless Female


LoveLocalJobs.com, the award winning Sussex based jobs board with London based training provider, The Skills Farm delivered an enlightening gender equality conference on Friday 11th May.


The Fearless Female Conference, at Hilton London Gatwick Airport was attended by over 70 HR professionals, managers and senior decision makers from local businesses.


With expert speakers sharing useful advice and strategies to ensure that organisations are hiring and developing the best female talent for their business, the aim was to provide organisations with the answers to achieving gender equality - both in terms of practical gender equality efforts that satisfy the business case for diversity AND culture changing advice that can help leaders and executives walk, talk, run and shout about gender equality.
Mary Appleton, Editor of Changeboard kicked the day off with a keynote on why facilitating female progression starts with changing mind-sets. The audience was also given the opportunity to hear tips and best practice from an expert panel from industry leading companies on how to attract and retain female talent including Zoe Wright, Director of People at B&CE; Jill Grafflin, Vice President of European Customer Servicing Team at American Express; Nikki Gatenby, Managing Director of Propellernet and Adrienne Saunders, Master Trainer at The Skills Farm.


Event Headline Sponsor’s Janine Owen, from Search Consultancy was interviewed by LoveLocalJobs.com’s Helen Walpole on how to deliver a female focused recruitment programme that delivers the best in female talent.


Janine Owen, Marketing Director from Search Consultancy said: “As an organisation we are passionate about developing female roles in the workplace and were delighted to support the Fearless Female Conference. Across all sectors it is about supporting and highlighting best practice and championing women that are leading the way. It’s also about ensuring we are talking through relevant and diverse channels in a modern world, talking positively about the opportunities for women from school age right through all career stages.”


Helen Walpole, HR Director from LoveLocalJobs.com said: “LoveLocalJobs.com understands the importance of gender equality in the workplace and we are passionate about ensuring we give advice and guidance to organisations so they hear from experts who are already making waves in this area. The Fearless Female Conference, delivered in partnership with The Skills Farm, is one of the ways that we offer this advice and we will be holding many more conferences in the future to support managers and HR professionals”


Scott Summers from the Skills Farm and Julia Francis of Julia Francis Talent Consulting delivered a session on building a female leadership programme to give the audience an idea on how to get aspiring females stepping up, speaking up and standing out. The conference came to a close with the final session of the day by Antoinette Oglethorpe, Leadership & Development Consultant. Antoinette gave advice on how to cultivate an inclusive culture that supports development for all.


Scott Summers, Director of Training at the Skills Farm said: “The engagement and passion for this topic is evident in the conference hall today - our speakers have not just been informative, they’ve been inspirational and almost everyone in the audience has been taking notes all day. That’s great news, because the HR professionals in attendance now have the evidence, ideas and practical advice to take back to their organisations and kick-start conversations with their leadership teams. It means that gender equality in these companies is closer today than it was yesterday - and that’s great news for everyone”


Mary Appleton Editor of Changeboard and keynote speaker at the Fearless Female Conference said: “We all know that right now, the balance of female to male at senior levels in business falls gravely short of being equal. Stocking the female talent pipeline requires business support, sponsorship and creativity, but none of this will be successful without the ability to shift mindsets at a societal level. And this is the responsibility of us all. HR professionals have the opportunity to change the narrative around female progression and influence the conversation about what happens in their businesses – so female success stories are not the exception, or the result of luck.


“It was a privilege to be part of the Fearless Female Conference and share my perspective on what it will take to move the dial on gender equality. I believe the appetite is there, and time is ripe for change, so now is the time to make this a reality in our businesses and society, by truly embracing inclusion in all its forms. And make work, for everyone, altogether more meaningful.”


Christina Fishlock at LoveLocalJobs.com on 07824 645 123 or christina@lovelocaljobs.com
Jamie Summers at The Skills Farm on jamiesummers@theskillsfarm.co.uk