Author

Alison is an international writer and author and a former long-serving journalist at the Financial Times and Reuters. She has co-written three business books:

INdivisible: Radically rethinking inclusion for sustainable business results, with Rebekah Steele (February 2020)

Future Work: Changing organisational culture for the new world of work, with Peter Thomson (2011, 2014)

Why Women Mean Business: Understanding the emergence of our next economic revolution (2008, 2009) with Avivah Wittenberg-Cox

She has written chapters for two other books:

‘The Power of Everyone: Why the work revolution demands a fresh focus on inclusion’ (Work in the Age of Data, BBVA 2020) and

‘A Gender Power Shift in the Making’ (Reinventing the Company in the Digital Age, BBVA 2015).

She’s also contributed a case study, ‘Reviving purpose’, to the book Climate Change Coaching: The Power of Connection to Create Climate Action (Charly Cox, Sarah Flynn, 2022).

She had a long career as a journalist and continues to write commentary pieces about leadership, inclusion and the changing world of work and careers. She has also written numerous special reports, including: ‘Closing the Gender Gap’ for The Conference Board; a guide to flexible working and a report on the over-50s workforce for the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

She was on the staff of the Financial Times as a news editor, reporter and management feature writer, from 1986 to 2006. During eight years as management writer, she interviewed a wide range of prominent figures for her column on leadership. She wrote series on business ethics and on the ageing workforce, and led special reports, including Responsible Business and Business & Diversity.

In 2012, she received a ‘World of Difference 100 Award’ from The International Alliance for Women for her writing on women and work. In 2004, she and the FT features team won the first media award given by The Conference Board Europe ‘for having raised awareness and public consciousness of the issues of diversity and work-life balance’.

In her earlier FT career, she led editorial coverage of world stock markets during the 1987 global crash, was European news editor when Eastern Europe opened up after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and reported on food and agriculture at the height of ‘Mad Cow Disease’ and genetically modified foods.

Prior to the FT, she was a journalist for Reuters in Paris and London, and before that she did her journalist training at the Liverpool Post & Echo.

The Books

INdivisible

Disruptive global challenges and shifting workforce expectations make it more urgent than ever to get inclusion right. Organizations need the skills and perspectives of the widest possible mix of people to find creative solutions for our changing future. Yet many companies struggle to achieve business outcomes from inclusion. Uncertain what it really looks like, what action to take, or how to measure progress and impact, they too often focus on isolated initiatives.

New thinking is needed to address the gap between the promise and practice of inclusion.

In this powerful book, Alison Maitland and Rebekah Steele provide an effective way forward. Challenging today’s piecemeal approaches, they set out a coherent framework to help leaders make the changes they need to achieve visible business impact. Showing how inclusiveness is indivisible from the way organizations operate, the authors offer compelling case studies, innovative solutions and step-by-step guidance to make it happen – for the sake of sustainable businesses and society.

Buy it on Amazon or Amazon UK

Future Work

Work is transforming in the digital age. This book sets out the compelling case for a similar transformation in organizational cultures to boost output, cut costs, give employees more freedom and contribute to a greener economy.

Future Work, published in an expanded and updated second edition in 2014, features insightful case studies and updates on fast-moving trends. It provides a clear framework and advice on introducing new ways of working for leaders, managers and employees, with an extra chapter on how individuals can make change happen.

It takes bold leadership and a break with old habits – but the benefits from adapting to the new world of work are already available, and organizations should grasp the opportunities now.

Watch the fact-packed short video: Future Work, Changing World

Why Women Mean Business

Gender is a business issue, not a women’s issue. This powerful book brings together in a single, concise volume the multiplicity of opportunities available to companies that really understand what motivates women in the global workplace and marketplace.

Women today make up much of the market and most of the talent pool. Reaching women consumers and developing female talent is essential for sustainable economic growth in the 21st century. Studies show that better gender balance in business means better bottom line results and greater resistance to economic crises.

The book shows why getting gender balance right matters. Packed with ideas from companies that have made it work, it offers views from top business leaders and a step-by-step guide to how we can all become gender bilingual.