On 21 January 2010, Genesis Housing Group held a hugely popular seminar entitled 'Women into Senior Management' at its offices for 55 staff. The seminar was part of a wider programme Genesis is putting in place to address diversity issues.

Although nearly 70% of the social housing sector workforce is made up of women, the figure is not reflected in the gender make-up of senior management and boards. Genesis is no different in this respect, with 63% of its workforce being female and 17% of its senior managers female.

Only 16% of the largest housing associations in the UK have a female chief executive. Recognising this imbalance, Genesis has put in place a number of initiatives, including development programmes and mentoring from senior managers, to give women the skills and confidence to apply for senior positions.

Some members of Genesis' Executive Team, as well as other senior managers, attended the seminar, and workshops were held to gather participants' ideas on how we might further develop women's chances of promotion within the Group.

Rolande Anderson, Genesis Board member and Director-General at the Office of the Third Sector, gave a personal account of some of the difficulties she has encountered as a woman moving into senior management throughout her wide and varied career. She shared some amusing anecdotes and tips with the enthusiastic audience.

Sarah Churchman, Head of Diversity and Engagement at PricewaterhouseCoopers, spoke about how developing women into senior management positions has benefited PwC. As well as the challenges of addressing natural human bias, she referred to how important gaining 'buy-in' from the top was to beginning to redress the imbalance.

Neil Hadden, Chief Executive of Genesis Housing Group, then spoke about why it's important for Genesis to have women in senior positions. He said "The gender imbalance evident in the management make-up of organisations nationally is reflected at Genesis. We are committed to tackling imbalances in equality of opportunities and I welcome the initiatives the Group is putting in place to better reflect the diversity of our workforce and our customers."

Kulbir Shergill, Head of Diversity and Inclusiveness at Genesis Housing Group, organised the event and said "I was delighted to see so many people express an interest in this event. In fact it was so over-subscribed and generated so much enthusiasm that we are hoping to organise a larger conference next year to further explore the many issues this seminar has thrown up."

Juliana Popoola, Ledger Section Manager at Springboard, part of Genesis Housing Group, participated in the seminar and said "Some of the things the speakers said about the challenges women face in moving into management rang true for me. When you get your first promotion, confidence is so important. You also have to be much more proactive and professional, speaking to many much more senior people all the time - it's very challenging and you have to be so organised. I found the session extremely helpful and would very much like to see how this programme for women develops."

Photo caption: Neil Hadden, Chief Executive of Genesis Housing Group, discusses the gender split among the workforce at Genesis

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For further information, please contact: Diana Evans on 020 7563 0028 / email diana.evans@ghg.org.uk

NOTES TO EDITORS

Genesis Housing Group is a social investment business. It provides homes and services, supporting customers and communities to build futures. Genesis provides homes and services to tens of thousands of people across London and the south east of England. The Group consists of PCHA, Pathmeads, Springboard and St Matthew housing associations. Genesis also has in its group a charitable foundation, Genesis Community. It is one of the largest and most diverse housing groups in the UK, owning and/or managing more than 40,000 homes. Its overriding aim is to put customers first and provide excellent service.