Wed 08 Mar 2023
Clockwise from top left: Nurjahan Khatun, Cavita Chapman, Antonia Romeo, and Susanna McGibbon
As the world stands ready to celebrate International Women's Day, we put the spotlight on female leaders in Whitehall and the wider public sector who increase visibility and help government departments and public sector bodies embrace gender equity in their organisations
Dods Events celebrates International Women's Day recognising the increasing number of women in Whitehall and the wider public sector who are raising the visibility of female leadership, helping to forge inclusive and gender-equal workplaces.
Progress on gender-equal leadership in the civil service has been slow, but the upward trend is promising. The latest published data on the workforce shows that 54.5% of the staff are women, but men continue to outnumber them in G6/G7 and Senior Civil Service (SCS) levels.
The figures, released by the Cabinet Office as of 31 March 2022, show that 47.2% of those at SCS level are women, compared to 35% a decade ago. Similarly, 48.9% of G6/G7 level officials are women, compared to 41.1% in 2012.
Behind these numbers are women who have overcome impostor syndrome or other inner barriers, have had the resilience to break glass ceilings in their workplaces, and have become role models.
Below are just a handful of those women. They uphold the "yes, she can" ethos that resonates in every woman into leadership, as well as advocacy and inspiration for the next generation.
Nurjahan Khatun
A civil servant, entrepreneur and author, Nurjahan Khatun is a leading voice of female leadership, keen to share her lived experience to encourage women in the public sector to become the leaders they aspire to be.
Last August, she took up the role of Director of System Leadership at the Home Office, a position that is a milestone in a 14-year career in the civil service.
Speaking to Dods Diversity & Inclusion, she recognised she had to overcome race, gender, and disability challenges as part of her leadership journey.
"When you believe in yourself, you dare to know you belong. (…) It took me five years of continuous interviewing for a senior civil servant position, so getting the [Director] role is a monumental moment because I am not aware of any other visibly female Muslim director anywhere in government."
Her book Hook on Hope is a testament to her advocacy for women into leadership. Examples of her resilience and strength are reflected in the pages, inspiring readers to hook on to hope as she did to find her authentic self.
Cavita Chapman
An equality champion, Cavita Chapman is a mental health nurse with more than 20 years of experience in the UK's health sector. As Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion for the South East regional team at NHS England, she has seen the challenges and opportunities that colleagues across trusts face in their efforts to celebrate diversity and foster a culture of inclusion.
With #EmbraceEquity as the theme of this year's International Women's Day, Chapman's thoughts are more relevant than ever: "My vision is for equality to be fed into the strategy of each organisation, not just on paper but in real life," she says.
To Chapman, overcoming the challenges of gender equality – or any diversity and inclusion issue, for that matter – is about seeing your identity as a competitive advantage. "Isn't being a black nurse your biggest competitive advantage?" she asks, noting that people should consider what makes them different is, in fact, their strength.
Speaking to Dods Diversity & Inclusion, she explained that regardless of race, gender, sex, religion, disability, or socio-economic background, women "are not just coming with intelligence and professionalism to their workplaces but many more capabilities — resilience, perseverance, you name it".
Antonia Romeo
Civil Service Gender Champion Antonia Romeo has been the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice since January 2021. One of her first initiatives to champion gender equality was to set up the Gender Equality Leadership Group (GELG), a group of gender champions at director-general level from all departments, working together to galvanise top-level action across departments.
In an interview with Civil Service World, she explained: "We know that the lived experience of women is different in different departments and functions, and the GELG works to ensure the agenda has the oversight and drive what they need."
Romeo believes in leading with purpose, and that equity is vital to creating the right organisational culture.
"The civil service has come a long way since the image of white middle-class Sir Humphrey in oak-panelled offices, " she said at Civil Service World's Leadership Lecture 2022, reflecting on the increase in female representation and ethnic minorities in the senior civil service. But she also recognised the figures for both decline the higher up you go, which is a challenge government has got to focus on.
"If we really want to draw on the talents of the widest possible range of people, we've got to be a model for social mobility and a workplace where merit matters above all else," she said.
Susanna McGibbon
Two years ago today, Susanna McGibbon was taking up the role of Treasury Solicitor and Permanent Secretary of the Government Legal Department (GLD). Her first day coincided with celebrations of International Women's Day, and she used the announcement of her appointment to highlight GLD's work in helping women succeed in the civil service.
"We are one of the best legal organisations for women to succeed in," said McGibbon. "Nearly 59% of our senior civil servants are women and, even prior to Covid-19, colleagues were encouraged to work flexibly and were offered a range of work patterns."
McGibbon also pledged to guard against complacency. She encouraged senior leaders in the department to challenge themselves to avoid making assumptions based on working patterns or family commitments. "I want GLD to continue to be recognised as a representative and diverse employer where all colleagues feel welcome and their contribution is valued," she noted.
The upcoming events are designed to provide women in public sector organisations with the skills and networking opportunities to help them thrive. Click on the links below to learn more:
Women into Leadership Birmingham
Ethnic Minorities into Leadership Birmingham
Women into Leadership Edinburgh
Women into Leadership Online
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