HR Grapevine Advent Calendar: My Christmas wish list - Ann Pickering, O2's HR Director

Speaking to HR Grapevine, Ann Pickering, O2's HR Director, discusses her HR Christmas wish list.

"What a year 2015 has been for HR! We’ve seen The Lord Davies’ 25% women on boards target met for the first time; the government has renewed its call for businesses to offer more, higher quality apprenticeships – introducing a new apprenticeship levy to fund three million apprenticeships – and we’ve seen an increasing number of public figures such as Yvette Cooper calling for the government to get more women into the digital economy. 

"And yet the reality is that much of these initiatives have yet to be reflected in many of the UK’s workplaces – with businesses continuing to suffer from skills shortages, the majority of senior level roles within organisations are still being held by men, and women continue to be under-represented in the STEM sector. So how can HR departments contribute to making a real change within their own organisations in 2016? Here’s my Christmas wish list for HR in 2016."  

Christmas wish 1: An equal number of boys and girls entering STEM careers