Mentorship and sponsorship are often treated as interchangeable, but they play very different roles in career progression - particularly for women. Vernujaa Nagandiram explains why a system of formal, evenly distributed sponsorship is key to achieving more equitable professional outcomes.
All along the leadership pipeline, unconscious gender bias can quietly narrow women's progression - even when decisions look neutral and intentions are fair. Here are three mechanisms that explain how seemingly neutral decisions can compound into unequal leadership outcomes - and where employers can intervene to reduce bias at the source.
The people profession is operating in a "VUCA world on steroids" (VUCA = volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity). So said CEO Peter Cheese as he welcomed around 1,300 delegates to the 2023 CIPD conference in Manchester.
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Commentary and insights: HR and legal information and guidance relating to leadership.