Harriet Waley-Cohen

Women & The Self-Worth Crisis: a call to action.

In this powerful, eye-opening session, Harriet explores why women don’t feel good enough, through outlining the impact on women’s self-worth of cultural, media, political, medical, corporate and religious paradigms.

Discussion follows on the additional impact of intersectional factors and individual life experiences. The detrimental impact of women feeling inadequate is outlined at individual, organizational and global levels.

Harriet works with her audience to co-create a vision for the future, ensuring that personal and organizational pledges plus action steps are clearly defined, with the aim of creating a new future where women are valued and know their worth.

Breaking Through The Diversity Glass Ceiling

Companies want and need to get an excellent return on their DEI investment and initiatives; however, this isn’t always the case. After initial improvements, progress can stall or even reverse. Sometimes this is because of gaps in implementation, knowledge gaps or a lack of management buy in and communication. Internal push back is common. Harriet calls this hitting the diversity glass ceiling. It occurs despite training on topics like unconscious bias, policy changes, and inspiring talks from external speakers on a range of DEI topics.

No matter how an organisation presents it’s DEI profile to the outside world, the story can be different on the inside, which will ultimately undermine the business. In this session Harriet sets out a range of key indicators that occur if your organisation has hit the diversity glass ceiling.

Examples of signs that this is the case can include: challenges attracting and retaining diverse staff including women; a lack of career progression for diverse employees; complaints from staff members about microaggressions or worse; overt and more subtle pushback from the majority on DEI initiatives; diverse employees not being included on major projects or being spoken down to. There are a wealth of additional indicators.

Drawing on research, best practice and success stories, a broad range of practical suggestions are laid out that will support your organisation with breaking through the diversity glass ceiling to create a truly diverse and inclusive workplace, which will also enhance future business results, brand reputation and culture.

Breaking Down Gender Stereotypes: uplevel allyship and success

Gender stereotyping is a key contributor to lack of equity, inequality and gender-based violence. Dismantling stereotyping is a key part of moving towards equality.

This session focuses on understanding the breadth and nuances of gender-based stereotypes for men and women, and explores the research into the impact that these have at the individual, organizational and wider societal levels. Beyond this, the key outcome of this session is that participants reject and move beyond unhelpful gender-based stereotypes. They start to work together to create a stronger environment of mutual respect and sense of belonging for all in the organisation, with staff seeing individuals not genders, and all that each individual brings to the table.

Why Should We Care About Gender Balance? Aka how to get men truly on board with gender balance

In this workshop, Harriet shifts the conversation around gender balance far beyond the moral case to encompass several more compelling layers of argument through her unique framework.

This supports her audience to leave behind scepticism and become proactive allies for gender balance, inclusion and belonging. Risks and opportunities are discussed at the business, brand and individual career level.

A powerful part of this session is an open conversation exploring how the current, patriarchal system hurts men as well as women, albeit in different ways. A shared vision is created for a different way forward on a bigger picture level: how would we like it to be for men in the future, and what difference would that make? How might gender balance and a different culture in the workplace be part of this? What kind of difference will it make for women, humanity and the planet?

The Future of Allyship & Outstanding Diversity Led Leadership.

Harriet outlines what it is like to be someone who is either upholding the current system of inequality, someone who is neutral or someone who is proactively part of change. The point is made that allyship is for all, and that there is not only an expectation for men to change, although their buy in can be the most impactful in moving the needle forwards. The identity, mindset and behavior of an excellent ally is discussed, giving participants direct and practical guidance they can implement.

This session includes giving yourself and others permission to get it wrong sometimes; mistakes are part of the learning process and change is not an overnight matter – how to handle, making or witnessing mistakes along the way is a vital part of the process.

Part of being an excellent ally is being a leader for the future: research insights on leadership traits and career cycle norms, how these interplay with gender stereotyping, and barriers to diversity, equity, inclusion and gender balance. The latest research into the behaviors, skills and values the leaders of the future need, and the role of self-leadership within this.

From the Conceptual to the Practical at the Organisational Level

What could change at the organisational level to help your organisation lead the way on diversity and gender balance? Areas that can be examined include hiring/promoting processes, general culture, performance measurement, remuneration criteria, parental/caring responsibility and flexible working policies plus fostering a culture where it is acceptable and encouraged for men to take up caring responsibilities. Measuring and tracking. Create a top level project plan, with the staff and especially the leadership team leading the way as they know best how to create change and make it happen internally; what works and what commitments are realistic now, and in the future. Time frames. Communication plan.

Difficult Conversations: in collaboration with Mia Forbes Pirie

Harriet collaborates with Mia Forbes Pirie on this topic, adding Mia’s expertise as a highly experienced, effective and award-winning
mediator to the conversation. Mia offers sessions including ‘Difficult conversations: moving from polarisation or silence to communication, understanding and collaboration.’ Mia and Harriet have co-led events for many years together, including day retreats and shorter workshops. Starting a series of diversity workshops with this particular training on difficult conversations helps to set the scene and equip the audience with important skills ahead of moving directly into the diversity topic.