Ogilvy & Mather's Group HR & Talent Director: 3 ways to improve gender diversity

Everyone recognises the importance of addressing gender diversity within businesses, but very few know how to do this.

A lot of studies have been conducted around the current number of women in senior positions, or even the potential rewards of having a more diverse top team. But, aside from introducing controversial quotas or setting up a women’s network, little is said about how to help women progress.

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While Ogilvy & Mather may not have all the answers, Julia Ingall, Group HR & Talent Director at the advertising agency, believes that diversity of all types, including gender diversity, stems from addressing our unconscious biases. ‘If we raise awareness of our unconscious biases, talk about them openly and honestly at all levels of the organisation, with all employees’ we may just start to make a difference.

In addition to ensuring that unconscious bias is part of an awareness programme for everyone in the organisation, Ingall, who will be speaking at HR Grapevine’s annual event ‘The Magic of HR’ in March 2017', also feels that there are three other simple things that can help to truly encourage females to progress.