26 January 2018
What can we do to change how ‘power’ is perceived? The question is made even more urgent in the face of widespread accusations of abuse by men in positions of power – the latest being the repugnant antics revealed by the FT at the men-only Presidents Club charity dinner in London. These follow a spate of revelations about abusive behaviour from Hollywood to the Houses of Parliament.
Here’s my column on Seven ideas to change how power looks
14 Nov 2017 As recent events have highlighted, the gender divide at work is a continuing concern, and one that holds back economic progress. Does the future of work signal positive change? Will digital transformation narrow the gender gap in pay, the representation of women in key economic sectors, and women’s access to leadership roles, or could it have the opposite effect? I explore the potential on either side in this column, first published by IWE, and look at what measures should be taken.
24 Oct 2017 Newsweek has just published a thoroughly researched and readable report, Achieving Results: Diversity & Inclusion Actions with Impact, by specialist consultants Veronika Hucke and Lisa Kepinski. There’s a section on flexibility at work, and an interview I gave them on ‘Agile Work as a Business Enabler’ (page 32). The report provides an excellent perspective on the strategic (instead of piecemeal) approach needed to make corporate cultures more inclusive and enable businesses to draw on the strengths of all their people.
17 Oct 2017 In this column I write about the importance of humility in leaders, and why, despite being out of fashion, it is a key ingredient for long-term success.
First published by IWE, September 2017
24 August 2017 The devastating Grenfell Tower fire in London revealed ignorance of the vast divide between rich and poor in Britain’s ‘advanced economy’. If we know little about the everyday struggles and dangers of people in our neighbourhoods, what does that say about our knowledge of life in other parts of the world? And what can we do to overcome our blind spots to put greater pressure on policy-makers to close the divide?
You can read my full column here.
11 May 2017 In my latest IWE column, I write about the continuing discriminatory practice of obliging women to wear high heels at work, and some useful ways of tackling it.
13 March 2017 Encouraging more women to take up careers in science, technology, engineering and maths, and to stick with them, would do much to address serious skills shortages in these areas. In my latest column for IWE, I investigate ways to make this happen.
24 January 2017: Employee networks can be a powerful way to influence change in corporate culture. Or they can be ineffectual. A lot depends on how they are positioned. This column examines new research into what works, and what doesn’t, in gender and other employee networks.
23 November 2016: There’s a buzz in business about creating inclusive work environments. The need for inclusion in society, and the difficulty of achieving it, have meanwhile been highlighted by the huge divides revealed by the Brexit vote and the US elections.
This column, published by IWE in November, examines why inclusion matters so much at work and looks at innovative approaches to making it happen.
The idea of mid-career breaks is one answer to the question of how to sustain longer working lives. Jim Luetkemeyer, a 42-year-old PR consultant from Washington DC, is taking a year’s break to travel round the world with his wife, and writing a blog about it. In this column, I consider Jim’s plans alongside the thought-provoking messages contained in The 100-Year Life, the new book by Lynda Gratton and Andrew Scott.