The Glass Ladder - Bird & Co Group

T: +44 (0)20 7493 8688

Bird & Co Group, 8 St. James's Place, London, United Kingdom, SW1A 1NP

Why a Glass Ladder ?

The subject of women on boards has been debated endlessly, and it’s fair to say that attitudes have changed. As our own research confirms, there is widespread recognition that boards’ performance can be enhanced by the addition of one or more women. Indeed, there is much enthusiasm for programmes to increase the number of women in senior management positions.

For years, this has been seen as a demand-side problem: capable and qualified women blocked out by the glass ceiling. But as our research makes clear, this is now a supply-side issue: increasing female representation on boards is simply not going to be feasible without a significant increase in the pool of women who have the experience and preparation to be classed as genuinely ‘board ready’.

This won’t just happen by itself. It needs purposeful and concerted action to make it happen. There is a need for a ‘glass ladder’ that helps more women to the boardroom by preparing them for the demands that they’ll face when they get there.

The Glass Ladder Programme

The Glass Ladder Programme is a commitment by Bird & Co Board & Executive Mentoring to prepare senior executive women to find and take their first boardroom position. We believe that honing boardroom potential benefits not only the individual but also their organisation. Over a 10-month period, the programme focuses on five key steps to becoming ‘board ready’ and utilises a combination of one-to-one mentoring, case-study based group sessions and interactive learning sessions.

Mentors and session leaders will be drawn from a pool of active senior non-executive directors with experience of chair, CEO and CFO roles in public and private companies in both regulated and unregulated industries. We will also recommend participation in business school courses and conferences, networking and background reading relevant to participants’ individual needs.

How To Get Involved

The programme has been initiated and promoted by Bird & Co Board & Executive Mentoring. But we cannot do it by ourselves. We are inviting organisations in the private and public sectors to join us in our resolve to get more women ‘board ready’.

If your organisation chooses to take part, we will ask you to select and be prepared to sponsor one or more female executives to join the programme. They should be members of your senior management team who you believe would benefit both themselves and your organisation by honing their boardroom potential.

For further information about the programme, selection criteria and cost, please contact Liz Zealley on:-

E: lz@birdbem.com T: 020 7493 8900

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