Handle Recruitment launch Future Female Leaders – an in-depth development programme designed for women approaching senior executive-level roles within the creative industries.
It was International Women’s Day 2019 when a close friend of Gill Bell, Handle’s Director of People, bemoaned how more and more organisations were creating headlines and statistics highlighting gender diversity issues, but very few appeared willing to offer practical solutions.
The conversation struck a chord with Gill and she asked herself; “what am I personally doing, was it enough, and could Handle be doing more?
Gill explains “I spent the next few weeks drinking coffee and sharing lunch with an eclectic mix of experienced HR professionals discussing the abundance of initiatives for emerging talent but less about the opportunities for experienced professionals. Whilst positive action and fast-tracked career paths had created an energy and optimism, many women within the creative industries just didn’t feel like they were being offered the support they needed to take the next step in their career. In the absence of structured support, some even felt like they were being set-up to fail!”
After 12 months of planning and refining, Handle Recruitment is delighted to launch the Future Female Leaders Programme to enable organisations to fast-track identified talent through a supportive 8-month programme. Ideally suited to women approaching senior executive-level roles within the creative industries, the participants will experience a series of in-depth workshop events whilst being individually supported by a dedicated executive coach throughout the process.
Gill continues “We have only recently started to accept delegate requests for the first participant group and the feedback has been even better than expected. I really am immensely proud to have created a programme that provides a fantastic tool for HRD’s and L&D professionals that are genuinely committed to increasing gender diversity within their organisation!”
If you would like to discuss how the Future Female Leaders Programme could support you or your organisation, you can find out more by visiting handle.co.uk/future-leaders, sending an email to futureleaders@handle.co.uk.