EDITOR’S LETTER
A WOMAN’S PLACE
EDITORIAL Head of editorial Colette Doyle c.doyle@amba-bga.com Content editor Tim Banerjee Dhoul t.dhoul@amba-bga.com
Female leaders are increasingly becoming a part of the establishment but there’s still a long way to go
J
Art editor Sam Price Sub-editor Heather Ford
ames Brown famously sang “ It’s a Man’s World ” but that was way back in 1966, so things thankfully have changed since then – although not as much as they probably should have. That was certainly the consensus when I recently convened a group of female deans from leading business schools around the world to explore what it’s like to be a woman in academia nowadays – see our cover story for more details. Sadly, it seems the ‘leaky pipeline’ phenomenon is still alive and kicking: according to She Figures, part of the Publications Office of the EU, women only represent around 30 per cent of researchers and 20 per cent of full professorships in Europe; in addition, just 20 per cent of research organisation leaders are women. Our debate covered the strategies these business school leaders have found most effective in navigating their roles; these include staying true to your core values and taking a mission-driven approach. In terms of growing the number of female deans, the panel noted that it was essential for women at the top to “send the elevator back down” and highlighted the importance of relatable role models, as well as keeping an eye out for female talent already in the organisation. The winner of this year’s AMBA & BGA leadership award, Lorna Conn, who we interview in this issue, is a perfect example of a female who has excelled in management. She is also an advisory board member of the 30% Club in her native Ireland, an organisation that actively seeks to increase gender diversity on boards and senior management teams. Lorna is big on succession planning and says companies need to look harder to find female candidates in roles traditionally held by men. Our guest column from leadership coach Jo Wagstaff also touches on the characteristics that female leaders possess, such as empathy and resilience, which can transform industries, fostering innovation and inclusivity. And one last thing about that James Brown song – it was co-written by a woman.
Insight, content and PR manager Ellen Buchan e.buchan@amba-bga.com CORPORATE Commercial relations director Max Braithwaite m.braithwaite@amba-bga.com
Head of marketing and communications Leonora Clement
Senior marketing executive Edward Holmes
Head of IT and data management Jack Villanueva
Head of events Carolyn Armsby
HR and employer relations manager Aarti Bhasin Finance and commercial director Catherine Walker
Colette Doyle , Editor, Ambition
THIS MONTH’S CONTRIBUTORS
Chief executive o cer Andrew Main Wilson
Executive assistant to the CEO Amy Youngs a.youngs@amba-bga.com ACCREDITATION ENQUIRIES accreditation@amba-bga.com
MARI AVARMAA
CATHY CASSELL
MARION DEBRUYNE
CATHERINE DUGGAN
FEDERICO FRATTINI
ALAIN GOUDEY
GONZALO HERNÁNDEZ
KARMAN KHANNA
WENDY LORETTO
DELPHINE MANCEAU
DAVID SLUSS
BARBARA STÖTTINGER
Copyright 2024 by Association of MBAs and Business Graduates Association ISSN 2631-6382 All rights reserved. Material may not be reproduced without the permission of the publisher. While we take care to ensure that editorial is independent, accurate, objective and relevant for our readers, AMBA accepts no responsibility for reader dissatisfaction rising from the content of this publication. The opinions expressed and advice given are the views of individual commentators and do not necessarily represent the views of AMBA. Whenever an article in this publication is placed with the financial support of an advertiser, partner or sponsor, it will be marked as such. AMBA makes every opportunity to credit photographers but we cannot guarantee every published use of an image will have the contributor’s name. If you believe we have omitted a credit for your image, please email the editor.
Ambiti n
Ambition MAY 2024 | 7
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