Improving Gender Balance in Defence

Last month, Leidos, Women in Defence and techUK co-hosted a panel looking at the role of mentoring in Improving Gender Balance in Defence. With a stellar line up including Jaynie Davies from Leidos, Jeremy Poulter from Microsoft and Col Lucy Giles and Gp Capt Chantal Baker from the MOD, the event provided sound advice and great tips for those looking to improve the diversity in their organisations.

Jaynie Davies highlighted that mentors can equip you with the skills required to succeed in the workplace, and that these relationships can be strengthened and provide a solid support structure throughout your career. This becomes especially important if you are working in a field which has traditionally not been very diverse. Mentorship and being a mentor can provide a foundation to break down barriers for those from non-traditional backgrounds.

She also mentioned that even if a mentor is ineffective, or in her words ‘particularly horrific’ they can still teach you valuable lessons. Jaynie emphasised that a bad mentor can teach you the pitfalls to avoid falling into when you start mentoring yourself, and to not be discouraged. In fact, a bad mentor can teach you important lessons about how to be a better mentor  yourself.  

Colonel Lucy Giles, who is currently President of the Army Officer Selection Board agreed with Jaynie that sometimes, the best learning experience is from a mentoring relationship that has not worked out as intended. Col Lucy suggested that these experiences can teach you the value of a positive mentorship relationship and the ways you can make sure your mentorship experience is optimal.

GP Capt Chantal Baker who is Chair of the RAF Gender Network and leads the MOD Improving Gender Balance Working Group raised the point that women are ‘typically over-mentored and under-sponsored’. For Chantal, too often there is too much emphasis put on ‘teaching’ female employees and not enough time championing them within the organisation. Without putting women forward for promotions, you’re unlikely to see the changes that D&I strategies promote, and though many organisations are now seeing gender parity in junior roles, there is still a large gender gap once you get into senior positions within organisations.

Jeremy Poulter from Microsoft shared some of Microsoft’s approach to gender diversity and how this impacts the culture, practical systemic interventions and the role of learning culture in promoting a better gender balance. In particular, he highlighted that the company promotes the concept of allyship, which aims to champion diverse employees and the concept of self-appraisal when it comes to demonstrating diversity, equity and inclusion.

This well attended session was a great reminder of the work still to be done to improve gender balance in defence, but also a space to highlight the excellent work being done across the defence community to champion women in the workplace. If you want to hear more about how Leidos are championing diversity, please feel free to get in touch with Silka Patel, Co-Chair Leidos UK Women’s Network.