Training.

“The first thing I noticed about the atmosphere in the room was how relaxed it was, as more women filed in and the chatter stopped, Gemma introduced herself by telling us all a bit about her business and background, she made us all feel at ease and told us all that she wasn’t one of these people that insisted in participation .

Throughout the presentation Gemma gave me an insight into why women don’t sell themselves, and how to self-promote. I found this fascinating, because, as I said I am quite confident. I realised that I don’t self-promote myself enough, this is due to the fact that I don’t want to be seen to blow my own trumpet, so to speak.”

“I know I am good at my job and would be an excellent candidate for promotion within WDH, after attending the presentation, I now have the skills and confidence to promote my skills and knowledge and to be seen. I have finally got through to interview stage for promotion within WDH.

The confidence that Gemma has given me has helped. I have also let the right people know that I am doing this and no longer feel that I am blowing my own trumpet, but self-promoting. This is all thanks to Gemma Stow and her advice. I know I can go in there and smash it. Thank you Gemma”

(And she did - she got that promotion and the interview panel said it was one on the best interviews they had seen!)

Lunch & Learn.

A favourite workshop that companies open up for their female staff (middle managers / team leaders) is Step into Self Promotion.

A lunch & learn session which focuses on the importance of image and visibility in career progression and how to do this in your own way.  Understanding how to use self promotion to further your career and how you might be holding yourself back. This not only builds confidence in your employees but also encourages a company culture that expects their people to showcase how good they are and strive for career progression. It also results in your female staff being more inclined and supported to raise their profile and go for the next promotions into senior leadership.

There is plenty of research, including Gemma’s own white paper, that suggests that the lack of self promotion from women is impacting on gender parity in the workplace. Women hold back for many reasons and most of the time they don’t realise it.

There is an increasing pressure on companies to reduce the gender pay gap by creating inclusive recruitment and internal promotion processes yet this is a dual responsibility. It is also time for women to step up and stand out too.

This workshop results in women owning their expertise and building a self promotion strategy for themselves. Book a call now to discuss how this will benefit your organisation or to discuss other training that Gemma can provide that will not only increase performance but will instil a new sense of confidence and ambition in your people.

What did your company do for IWD 8th March 2022?

The theme this year was #BreakTheBias - which followed on well from a year that has highlighted certain issues for women in the workforce.

I've noticed with the companies I am working with that the recent pressures on female employees working remotely from home has become an issue and is causing women being afraid to speak up and say that they are struggling or need extra support and are left feeling frustrated, undervalued and unseen. In turn this can result in reduced productivity and lack of commitment for organisations.

We facilitated stand alone 1 hour virtual workshops that helped companies to provide the skills to their employees to be able to speak up, challenge bias and become better allies in the workplace for women’s career progression.

After a long year, IWD was the perfect opportunity to raise awareness and motivation with your female staff and develop allies. Which happens when women are able to advocate for themselves within organisations in a clear, positive way.

It doesn’t need to be IWD for you to host this workshop - it is available to book all year round…

It gives those women in your organisation the opportunity to reconnect with each other over a short session and increases confidence and motivation when it comes to their work. It allows them to be vulnerable and share any issues that they may have that is stopping them from feeling motivated at work so that they can bounce back and be fully committed and productive. 

It's delivered virtually. The session would give the company the opportunity to demonstrate that you want to hear from your female employees, that you care about their well being and ensure that the company culture is seen as one in which employees can speak up and ask for support when they need it.

“I would recommend Gemma to anyone who is looking to be the best version of themselves without changing to fit a societal norm. I have attended two of Gemma's workshops now and today I really needed the session on ‘How self-advocacy builds self-promotion’.

Lockdown has made me question my abilities more than normal, historically my self-advocacy rating has reached 8/10 but I’m sitting at a 6/10. This is in part down to the lack of immediate feedback you get from colleagues when working in an office, which I didn’t realise I needed.

However, I got some really useful take-aways from your session today including reframing my perspective on situations and seeking direct feedback and now feel more positive.” 

(Nicole Bronson - Business Change Manager - Southern Housing Group)

Get in touch for more information and available dates.

Click below.

Bespoke.

Gemma has worked in different ways with organisations, from private coaching to inspiring talks. She has also facilitated group coaching programmes that have supported a number of ambitious female employees together to build their own self promotion strategies to get to the next level and have their own support network.

Consultation & Co-Creation

She can also be a consultative partner when it comes to designing and implementing internal networking and support for female employees so they feel valued and encourages retention and career progression.

Male Allyship

She is also involved in designing and delivering ‘ally’ workshops to bring about culture changes in organisations. This includes interactive sessions and coaching that support more male allies in the workplace to learn how they can better support women’s career progression so that there is a whole organisation commitment to gender parity.

Impact.

“I had a chat with my manager during my appraisal about taking the next step in my career and applying for the manager’s vacancy in our team once it is advertised. This is something I have definitely being indecisive about over the last few months while the post was under review however after attending your session I now feel that it’s the right time for me to put myself forward for this opportunity and as you say…..stop hiding!!”

“The trainers knowledge and enthusiasm was igniting”

“I'm not alone with struggling with self promotion and should go for it more often”

“Gemma is very enthusiastic and has a story to share, this resonated, I think with everyone involved, I think it was interesting to see that we're not alone in how we are perhaps feeling or are perceived. Gemma knows exactly how to motivate and make individuals see their worth and give some good pointers and guidance, on how we see ourselves and how to become more visible, and have self belief.” 

“Women are all experiencing the same barriers and we need to make more people aware of that!”

“Gemma was very encouraging and understanding of the barriers that women face and this allowed an appreciation that 'it's not just me' that feels or thinks this way.”

“That there are more women than I thought that share the same experience and getting ideas on how to overcome personal issues with self promotion was very useful and enlightening”

“Trainer was well informed and engaging.”

"It was far better than I imagined it would be, it not only opened my eyes, it also opened my mouth to start speaking up"