inspire the influential business exchange

inspire the influential business exchange

Welcome This is Inspire 3 The diversity challenge 4 Welcome to our global network 6 Our mission: Helping women grow 8 Our mission: Helping businesses build diverse teams 10 Our mission: Leading the debate on diversity 12 Get in touch 14 This is Inspire Inspire was born to make a difference. Established in 2008, Inspire is a unique business forum where senior board-level women, CEOs, Non-Executive Directors and Chairs, share and exchange ideas and experiences with their peers. Inspire now connects over 4000 board level, like-minded, inspirational individuals, from all areas of industry in both the private and public sector. Inspire was born to make a difference. Through our network of relationships and our connection with Harvey Nash, we offer advice and connectivity to the women, helping them advance their business careers. Our mission Helping senior women grow Helping businesses build diverse teams Leading the debate on diversity "51% of the UK s working population is female, yet only 5% of FTSE 250 executive board members are board members" Through networking events, coaching and peer-to-peer support we are actively helping women advance their careers. Where appropriate we provide access to unique career opportunities via the Harvey Nash Board Practice and other sources. Inspire enables Harvey Nash to engage with exceptional talent, helping our network members identify opportunities, resulting in better balanced shortlists globally for our clients. We use the knowledge and experience we have gained to advise multi-national blue chip clients on their diversity development programmes. Inspire has a voice in the diversity debate. From research papers to our involvement in UK and EU government backed initiatives we are playing an active role in promoting diversity, shaping legislation and developing the pipeline for the future. Inspire - the influential business exchange / 3

The diversity challenge The leaking pipeline Women make up 51% of the UK s working population. Female students outnumber males in most universities in the UK. But these proportions rapidly decline when you ascend the career ladder. In 2014, in the FTSE250 only 5.3% of executive board members and 22.2% of board members overall are women *1 5% Executive board 95% A gap in diversity The good news The good news is that progress is being made. Encouraged by initiatives like the Lord Davies Review, greater media attention, and networking groups like Inspire, women s representation on boards has increased. Moreover the pace of change is accelerating and the debate is high on the agenda of most organisations Why is it happening? Whilst most larger organisations may have diversity policies, there is a big difference between policy and successful action. Some companies are often hindered by structures and cultures that make gender equality more difficult, others simply don't have enough women at entry level. Added to that women often have a different approach to career planning and career expectations. Women Men There s still a long way to go Not in the least around the all-important pipeline of future executives, as well as smaller companies. There are also certain sectors where progress has been painfully slow: engineering, technology, energy are all examples. Increasingly governments across the world are introducing voluntary targets, and in some instances mandatory quotas. 51% Entry level 49% Why does it matter? Diverse leadership teams have been proven to make better decisions. They balance risk more effectively, are more creative, more in touch with their customer base and are able to achieve consensus decisions more quickly. Moreover, in a world where there is an increasing war for high performing people, women are a relatively untapped pool of talent. Organisations and countries that are able to tap into this pool potentially have a competitive edge whilst ensuring their workforce truly reflects their customers and community they serve. Why Inspire? Inspire was born to make a difference. We see change happening through three communities: the women themselves, the companies employing them, and the executive search organisations like Harvey Nash which often act as the connector. We call these communities the diversity triangle, and our mission is to help change the thinking and actions of all three. EXECUTIVE SEARCH FIRMS ORGANISATIONS The Diversity Triangle SENIOR WOMEN *1. Cranfield, The FTSE Board Report 2014). 4 / Inspire - the influential business exchange Inspire - the influential business exchange / 5

A global network 2008 the year Inspire was born. We are now one of the world s longest established international cross sector networks for senior business women. 4,500 members, across eight countries including UK, USA, Sweden, Finland, Norway, France, Hong Kong and Australia. 25% proportion of women who took part in our inaugural Women s Directorship Programme who were promoted to a board position within a year. 24% - 50% the average proportion of women on Harvey Nash s senior executive shortlists. Our Advisory Board Fiona Woolf, Lord Mayor of London Baroness Sandip Verma, Minister for Energy and Climate Change Rita Clifton, Non-Executive Director, Chairman of Populus Charlotte Sweeney, Non Executive Director, Diversity & Inclusion Consultant Heather Melville, Director Strategic Partnership Transaction Services UK Customer Solutions Group - The Royal Bank of Scotland Founder and Global Chair of the RBS Focused Womens Network Cathryn Riley, Non-Executive Director and formerly Chief Operating Officer Europe at Aviva plc Simon Fanshawe, Co founder and partner of astar-fanshawe. media broadcaster and co founder of Stonewall Timeline 2008 Where are all the women? Carol Rosati, Founder Inspire and Director Harvey Nash, attends a CEO networking event. Looking around, and seeing that she was the only woman, Inspire is born. 2009 Our first event Following months of planning Inspire establishes its first chapter, in London, hosting twice yearly networking events 2010 International growth Inspire establishes a chapter in New York, with yearly events happening subsequently. We also begin establishing connections into the US West Coast / Silicon Valley. 2011 Aspire The subsidiary network Aspire is developed and launched to reach out to the female leaders of tomorrow and help create a sustainable pipeline. Events in London and New York take place. 2012 Further expansion The first West Coast event is held in Palo Alto in Silicon Valley with guest of honour Dr Jane Shaw, Chair of Intel. The first event in Asia is held in Hong Kong in 2012 with Umran Beba, President of PepsiCo Asia Pacific. 2013 Working in Europe Inspire chapters are launched in Sweden, Finland, France and Australia Working in partnership with the University of Hong Kong, Harvey Nash launch the Women s Directorship Programme, the world s first accredited international progamme to help women achieve board positions. 2014 New horizons The network continues to grow organically, through peer recommendation, with new chapters launched in Vietnam and Tokyo. Women in technology networks are launched in the UK and US 2015 Looking to the future The network will have local, national and global events connecting its members across all sectors. Inspire representatives address MEPs at a major EU Conference. 6 / Inspire - the influential business exchange Inspire - the influential business exchange / 7

Helping women grow Events Each year hundreds of senior women attend our networking events. In the last year we have either hosted, or been contributors to, events in London, New York, California, Hong Kong, Seattle, Sydney, Sweden, Finland and Paris. Our events feature a wide of speakers from business leaders of global corporations, to politicians and House of Lords peers all of whom are passionate about promoting greater diversity in the global workforce. Our events give members a unique opportunity for networking and peer-to-peer support. Careers We are passionate about making a difference, and through our connection with Harvey Nash s Board Practice, we have expertise in career development that we are pleased to share with members. Our founder Carol Rosati and other members of the Harvey Nash Board practice are qualified Executive Coaches. Where appropriate we can also connect members with career opportunities from Harvey Nash, from our members and other sources. Developing the pipeline Although there has been progress in recent years, it has mostly been at Board level, with little change in how future women leaders are identified and nurtured. More needs to be done to ensure the pipeline is sustainable, providing a rich talent pool and at the same time ensuring the women are fully supported as they progress through their career along with the many life challenges and demands they will face. "Unlocking self imposed limitations often to leads to exceptional achievements. Inspire can make this happen" Carol Rosati Founder of Inspire Aspire and other networks Aspire was established in 2012 as a subsidiary network to Inspire. Aspire is a unique executive business network for C-suite, Director and VP level women aimed at helping them to Board level positions. The women of Inspire are committed to supporting and mentoring these future leaders of tomorrow. Harvey Nash s Women in Technology group runs a networking group across UK, Europe and the US promoting technology careers throughout the pipeline, from talking at schools, to mentoring aspirant and established technology leaders. Women s Directorship Programme Harvey Nash and The University of Hong Kong, Executive Education of the Faculty of Business and Economics have joined forces with senior business leaders to create the first certificated, internationally focused, cross industry, board preparedness programme, exclusively for women. Through a comprehensive combination of lectures, interactive sessions, leadership exercises and input from senior business leaders, the Women s Directorship Programme addresses current and contemporary issues in the workplace, across industries and geographies, helping women to be more effective at managing boards and increasing the pool of board-ready women executives. Inspire - the influential business exchange / 9

Helping companies build balanced leadership teams Access to diverse talent Our aim is not only to support women in business, but to help organisations create a more balanced workforce now and in the future. The challenge of addressing gender imbalance is a top priority for many global businesses and the Inspire network enables Harvey Nash Consultants to look beyond the obvious to find the exceptional. Just as importantly, we work closely with our clients to make the whole process supportive of finding diverse talent from initial up front advice about the role itself through to how to attract and successfully retain top female talent. Advice and consultancy Over the last six years, we have gained a unique, in-depth insight into the challenges faced by both the women and the organisations who wish to attract them. We have also worked closely with heads of diversity and inclusion in many major organisations and collaborated with academic institutions in Europe, Asia and the US. We freely share our expertise, as well as provide formal consultancy, helping organisations both large and small develop effective diversity programmes. Diversity toolkit We have developed a unique series of podcasts featuring high profile business leaders, as well as white papers and reports which address the issues of creating diverse teams. The Toolkit is publicly available, and underpins our desire to create change by freely sharing our expertise. Strength lies in differences, not in similarities Stephen R. Covey 10 / Inspire - the influential business exchange Inspire - the influential business exchange / 11

Leading the debate Facilitating change Inspire is a strong voice in the gender diversity debate, we speak at conferences, take part in panel discussions and produce thought provoking reports, which organisations use to facilitate change. the influential business exchange Return on Diversity a study of diversity in the Boardroom 2012 We contribute to and help shape future legislation, working with government bodies, the EU in Brussels as well as the House of Lords. We are regular commentators in the national print media, as well as on social media and online forums. Inspire - the influential business exchange / 13

Contact Carol Rosati Global Head of Inspire carol.rosati@harveynash.com 44 (0) 20 7333 1587 Ulrica Markeborn ulrica.markeborn@alumni.se 0046 8796 1700 Elisabeth Bre elisabeth.bre@harveynash.com 0033 1 7302 6792 Kirti Lad Kirti.Lad@harveynash.hk 00852 2251 8393 Bridget Gray bridget.gray@harveynash.com.au 0061 2938 6687 Jaana Laine-Richter jaana.laine-richter@alumniglobal.com 358 50 5011685 www.harveynash.com/inspire Inspire - the influential business exchange / 15

inspire the influential business exchange www.harveynash.com/inspire