Women into Leadership

Welcome to the Bradford Women into Leadership Network

We are a network of people passionate about supporting women in their careers

The network is led by representatives from Bradford Council, the University of Bradford, and the NHS, but any woman working in the Bradford District is welcome to join and attend our events. The network has strong ties to the Act as One Partnership.

As we are in the early stages of development, we are still determining our mission and aims. But our general goal is to provide a supportive space for women where they can bring their whole selves to access a network of support as they navigate their careers. We would like to offer women a space to share opportunities for development and are currently pursuing a mentoring partnership arrangement with the Race Equality Network (REN).

There are still significant barriers that reduce women’s opportunities to access professional development and that minimise women’s voices once they get to the table. There are even more obstacles for women who are part of the global majority, have a disability, are working class, and/or are part of the LGBTQ+ community, etc. Our network seeks to recognise these intersectional experiences and provide a safe space for all women.

In order to prevent the network becoming an exclusive space, there is no membership fee to join.

If you have any suggestions or would like to propose an event or opportunity, please do get in contact.

Areas of interest

Within the network we pursue conversations to help us grow as individuals, learn as a group and contribute to change around us. We have noted the following as areas of interest but we encourage new suggestions to widen our discussions:

  • The glass ceiling and the glass cliff
  • Workplace organisational culture – its impact on women and its role in creating or impeding change
  • Gender stereotypes
  • Caring responsibilities and how they impact women’s access to professional development
  • Intersectionality – specifically the increased rates of discrimination that women in the global majority experience in the workplace
  • The importance of vulnerability in leadership
  • The value of ‘holding space’ for each other, sharing our experiences, and engaging in self-care
  • The role of men and allies in this work
  • The impact of remote and hybrid working on women’s progression

Pledges

Our event in December 2021 included a call for organisations within the Bradford District to make the following pledges to reduce inequalities for local women:

  • Recognise that we have personal and organisational responsibility to respond as our organisations are reflections / microcosms of wider society
  • Remove previous salary boxes from recruitment forms in line with the Fawcett Society’s recommendation to #EndSalaryHistory
  • Tackle sexism within our organisations à could change to ‘everyday sexism’?
  • Empower women’s (and other) networks to advise on policy and strategy, e.g. review training materials
  • Ensure that the approach, implementation and outcomes of Equalities work do not serve to benefit one group: equality networks must complement and collaborate as we are stronger together

For further information on previous and upcoming Women into Leadership events please visit our Events Page.

Women Into Leadership meeting photo

The working women of Bradford District coming together to learn, reflect and support each other at our first in-person event.

Links to useful resources