Our website uses cookies to give you the best possible browsing experience whilst you’re here. If you continue without changing your settings, we’ll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on our website. However, you can change your cookies settings at any time. To read more about cookies and how to manage them please take a look through our cookie policy.

Archive for the ‘Women in Leadership’ Category

The Duchess of Cambridge public speaking – building on your strengths in presentations

Posted by Liz McKechnie

So, at last, Kate Speaks!

What’s the verdict? Any feedback for her?

The Duchess of Cambridge makes her first public speech on her own. With the world’s press hanging not only on what she looks like but, now, on the words she utters, and indeed how she utters them. She only gets one stab at this. No pressure there then…

Bearing in mind this is something she’s going to have to do a lot more of, what would be most helpful to Kate as she progresses along the rocky road of presentations and public speaking?

Do we criticise or do we praise?

Have a look and see how you think she’s doing……honestly….

Whatever your thoughts, there are some things that work well and others that don’t work so well.

The thing is, what will be useful to her to hear? Read more

Bridging the Gender Gap – One woman’s story

Posted by Bronia Szczygiel

I was having lunch with friends recently. Elizabeth is a successful woman engineer in her late sixties. She has run her own company for many years, having worked for the MoD, Ferranti and other big engineering companies.

We got to talking about the work we do at Aspire Leadership with women in general and engineers in particular. Elizabeth and I have never seen quite eye to eye on this subject so it was a lively discussion.

The way any individual woman tackles her journey through the engineering field varies. Some steadily challenge the status quo, some quietly establish a reputation and others confidently blaze a trail. There are many different paths and who’s to say which is best for any individual?

Read more

Gender quotas to encourage diversity?

Posted by Bronia Szczygiel

In a bid to encourage diversity and more women in management and leadership positions, the EC will consider introducing gender quotas if imbalances on executive boards are not addressed within a year. Just one option on the table for Viviane Reding as she considers the statistics – 89% of board members and 97% of CEOs in Europe are men. At the same time a recent report from Brussels shows that having women at the top helps company profitability.

Read more