Cambridge Rising Women Leaders Programme

Research shows that diversity in senior leadership encourages innovation, improves decision-making, reduces corporate misconduct and improves financial returns. Despite this fact, gender diversity is still a worldwide challenge at both an organisational and an individual level.

Whilst we have witnessed great strides in achieving gender balance in the workplace, the progress is slow and there are still systemic barriers in place for women looking to achieve more senior leadership roles.

Despite the significant challenges, we believe positive progress is being made, with the number of female executives globally set to rise by 36 per cent.

We believe that supporting and nurturing a growing pool of talented female professionals is a crucial step in achieving greater diversity and it is that what drives our work at Cambridge Judge Business School.

We believe that a great deal can be achieved by taking a collaborative, positive approach to understanding and empowering female leadership.

The programme is based on cutting-edge research from the Cambridge Judge Business School Wo+Men's Leadership Centre. It gives you the space and support to fully commit to your personal and professional growth, proactively preparing for the challenges of executive positions.

We take a strengths-based perspective, looking at the positives of female power and encouraging authentic leadership styles that serve you and your organisation.

Why Cambridge?

Cambridge Judge Business School offers a distinctive approach born out of the University of Cambridge way.

• Drawing on cutting-edge academic research, as you would expect from a business school with 16 research centres
• The University of Cambridge has always emphasised smaller class sizes for maximum interaction and focused effort between world-class faculty and top quality participants. Cambridge Judge is no exception. We have class sizes of no more than 25. This makes your experience here one of unrivalled quality, relevance and impact.

Wo+Men's Leadership Centre

Wo+Men’s Leadership Centre (WLC) is a centre committed to help women realise and embrace their potential in order to become successful leaders. Part of the Cambridge Judge Business School, the WLC achieves meaningful impact globally, across a wide range of organisations: from large companies to small start-ups; within for-profit to non-profit sectors, from corporations to government agencies.

By generating support for gender diversity in senior leadership positions, we will foster the next generation of women leaders and expand the pool of women with the requisite leadership skills.

How will we achieve our mission?

Impactful research – WLC undertakes cutting-edge research to discover the challenges within the work environment and use it to generate practical solutions into the issues. Such research will enable us to make a meaningful difference in gender equality and women’s empowerment globally;

Innovative programmes - research findings are used to create the basis of our women’s leadership programmes, aimed at inspiring prospective female leaders and employers;

Multi-faceted approach – throughout the year, in addition to our research, we offer a wide variety of panel events, workshops and our flagship annual conference to foster thought leadership, dialogue and action. We do so to engage as many people as possible to increase the support base for gender diversity in the work environment.

Inclusivity policy – WLC is open to everyone, no matter their gender, age or position. We invite everyone to be a part of our community to help spread our message of diversity and create networks to promote open dialogue and offer successful solutions. This inclusive bottom-up platform is an important cornerstone of the WLC.

Benefits

• Develop a positive, strength-based approach to building on leadership skills
• Gain a clear action plan for career advancement in rising to senior leadership roles
• Address real challenges in your current role and advice on advancing your career using reflective learning
• Benefit from close and informal conversations with senior executives about their journey to the top
• Gain a strong, supportive network of peers
• Enjoy an historic Cambridge College dinner at the end of the first day
• Gain membership to Cambridge Judge Business School's Wo+Men's Leadership Centre.