WATCH NOW ON DEMAND: International Women's Day 2020 - The Virtual Conference

Catch up now with three special sessions on gender parity, leading in a traditionally masculine industry, and the pros and cons of setting quotas for your business.


CONFERENCE SESSIONS

Day 1: The Day to Day Realities of Navigating Gender Parity.

Hear from Mercer on the latest insights and trends from their When Women Thrive research featured at the World Economic Forum at Davos in February. Discussion streams explored the role the employer and individuals can play across three key areas:

• Generational female perspective
• The Male perspective
• The value of education

Before returning for a wrap-up of the points raised.

Day 2: Keynote Speaker: Dany Cotton, former London Fire Commissioner

In 1988 the London Fire Brigade had 9,000 firefighters protecting the people of London, just 30 of these were female. Dany joined as a new recruit facing these odds and spent the next 31 years climbing her way to eventually hold the most senior position of London's Fire Commissioner, she was the first ever female to lead the London Fire Brigade. In 2004, Dany was the first woman to be awarded the Queen's Fire Service Medal for distinguished service, in 2010 she was named by The Independent as one of the '100 women who changed the world" and in 2011 was voted among the most influential women in London. In 2015 she won the Public Service Category at the First Women Awards and in 2017 she won the Women of the Year Leadership Award.

Dany delivered a keynote speech and answered questions on leadership and diversity in a male dominated industry, in a session moderated by Commander Martin Moore, Royal Navy, Defence Advisor at the British High Commission.

Day 3: Quotas, a Blessing or a Curse? Panel Discussion

In 2010, the UK spear-led an initiative called the 30% Club which seeks movement for gender-balanced boards. The idea of being a quota appointment makes a lot of women uneasy, but change at the top continues to be sluggish when left to develop under its own means.

While the implementation of a quota system is not an innovative idea, it has helped some companies, whilst others have tentatively adopted it or are still addressing the uncomfortable question of whether it will help or hinder.

Featuring:

• Low Peck Kem, Government Chief Human Resource Officer, Senior Director (Workforce Development) for the Public Service Division, & President of the Singapore Human Resources Institute;
• Naveen Menon, President, Southeast Asia, Cisco;
• Prof. Veronica Hope-Hailey, University Vice President of Strategic External Engagement, School of Management, University of Bath; 
• Moderated by Lewis Garrad, Principal & Business Lead, People Science, Growth Markets, Mercer and featured presenter in our International Women's Day event in 2019