Admiralty House Reception with The Rt Hon Matthew Hancock MP

Pink Shoe Ambassadors and the latest cohort of our BoardAble programme were at Admiralty House to discuss Public Appointments. 

The Government continues to strive to achieve greater diversity in Public Appointments. Having successfully reached the level of 44% for women in such roles there is still an emphasis on encouraging ever wider diversity. 

This was clear from an inspiring address from the Minister, Matt Hancock, calling upon everyone present not only to apply themselves but to pass the message on to our various networks - if each of us introduces another 12 people, then the benefits of public appointees from the widest possible talent pool will be felt across the country.

Further inspiration came from the keynote speaker, Natalie Campbell, who gave her top tips for obtaining a public appointment - apply...apply again.. and go geek! 

Natalie explained she'd applied three times for her role, believing strongly that she had the right mix of skills and experience to truly add value. It was at the third try she 'went geek' to gather masses of information and approached the application with a truly tailored approach of her own USPs and how they matched the position. 

It worked, and Natalie continues to make a big difference – a role model for us all.

This illustrates that a different approach is required when applying for a public role rather than to the private sector. 

Its why Pink Shoe set up its BoardAble programme to support people already fully capable of taking up a Ministerial Public Appointment, but to expedite the process by providing shadowing experience with those already doing the job along with tips and insights into these differences in the application process.

The evening continued with animated networking with the brilliant women and men present from across all sectors of business and professional life.

Economic Blueprint Workshops

Work on the UK Economic Blueprint is progressing well. Workshops have been held for each of the groups - Access to Markets; Finance; Training; Research. Almost 100 people are now volunteering their time and resources to make a difference for scaleable women-led businesses in the UK.

A follow up meeting with all the workstream chairmen and co-chairs will be held in mid-March to report back on outcomes. A full report will then be circulated.

A huge thank you to the workstream chairs, co-chairs and participants for all their energy, ideas, time and hard work.