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Employee Life Cycle

1. Attraction and Talent Outreach

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2. Recruiting and Hiring

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3. Onboarding and Training

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4. Performance Management, Compensation, and Benefits

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5. Talent and Leadership Development

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6. Retention and Employee Engagement

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7. Succession Planning and Promotion

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8. Separation and Retirement

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Organizational Enablers

9. Corporate Culture and Leadership

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10. Company Performance and Reporting

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11. Policies and Grievance Management

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12. Corporate Communication and Branding

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3.11 Provide training to women to prepare them for technical and leadership roles

Content

Description of Best Practices

Design and conduct targeted training and workshops for female employees, focusing on leadership skills and other skillsets that women report as underdeveloped or have been identified through skill gaps analysis including technical training. 

Use training needs assessment data to inform tailored content selection 

General potential training content: 

  • Program management or training on management tools used in the company 
  • Industry-specific training to increase knowledge on different business segments 
  • Soft skills including self-awareness, confidence, self-esteem, self-perception 

Modules for leadership training can include: 

  • Successful leadership and people management skills 
  • Project management, strategic work planning, and delegation of tasks 
  • Strategic communications skills – getting heard in meetings, public speaking, persuasion, assertiveness 
  • Time management, reconciliation of work life and family life 
  • Negotiation and consensus-building  
  • Conflict management and resolution 
  • Personal agency, visioning, and goal setting 

Challenges of Implementation

Costs required to roll out the training activities (considering any accommodations for off-site training) 

Opportunity costs to women for time away from core work 

Affirmative action backlash and perception by male employees that the opportunity provided to only women discriminates against men 

What Success Looks Like

Stronger pipeline of women candidates equipped with leadership skills and prepared to step into new opportunities 

Stronger pipeline of women candidates equipped with technical skills for specific work areas 

Greater number of women prepared to model confident, inclusive leadership to colleagues across the company 

Increased number of women promoted into leadership and management roles 

Resources and Tools

Course/E-learning: Becoming a Successful Leader (edX & Catalyst) 

Training/E-learning/Online Course: Leading With Effective Communication (edX & Catalyst) 

Training Resource/Tool: Negotiation Advice for Women (LeanIn) 

Training Resource/Tool: Develop Leadership Skills (LeanIn)  

Training Resource/Tool: Build Confidence (LeanIn)  

Training Resource/Tool: Training Package for Women in And into Management and Leadership Positions (Department of Education South Africa) 

Training Resource/Tool: Gender-Transformative Leadership (Jhpiego) 

Article: What Makes a Leader? (New York Times) 

Article: Why Leadership Training Fails- And What to Do About It (Harvard Business Review) 

Case Study: In North Macedonia, the future is female: How a power utility is opening doors for girls and women (USAID)