People 1st launches women in leadership initiative

Women 1st looks to address the issues affecting female employees across the hospitality workforce in particular their career progression and growth. Government-funded mentoring and personalised training are a significant part of the programme. Brian Wisdom, chief executive, welcomed invited guests to the launch, held at the Lanesborough Hotel in London: "It's great to see so many leading women in our industry here today. As businesses grow as does employment and by 2017 we aim to create 200,000 jobs across the sector and 69,000 of these will be managers. "But there's work to be done. In the last five years the proportion of women chefs has dropped from 50% to 40%. Our target of 69,000 managers will not be achievable unless women are encouraged to become leaders. Now is the critical time for career development and we need to ask the question 'how can we disregard so much talent?'" The long-term aim of Women 1st is to double the number of women in board-level executive positions by 2015. Just 6% of boards are made up of women and of those companies listed on the FTSE 100 there are only three female directors. Companies such as Aramark, Whitbread, Sodexo, Compass Group and Jury Inns have already signed up to the programme and others can sign up via the People 1st website. Around 41% of female workers said they find a lack of mentors is holding them back and so giving employees support using mentoring is also key to Women 1st. Rhona Floyd, a senior customer service manager for McDonald's, told guests how getting involved in the fast-food chain's Women's Leadership Network has helped boost her confidence and communication skills as well as her business acumen. Rhona encouraged others to set up their own networks where women can come together and celebrate good practice. Cherie Blair, an advocate of human rights and work/life balance, offered the keynote speech and gave an insight into her own work experiences. She explained how the world of law struggled to accept a female QC with male candidates often taking prevalence. Touching on maternity leave, Cherie described how in the eighties she battled to get back to work as soon as possible after giving birth to her daughter Katherine simply to prove the system wrong. Finishing her speech she said women in the hospitality industry had a lot of talent to give and how by embracing diversity workforces can be more creative. "By getting involved in Women 1st the winners won't just be women but the whole industry. The status quo is hard to break down but it isn't hopeless. We have made progress and can continue to make progress. This kind of programme is vital. It is support that is there for the long-term." For more information on how to get involved click here.