As a female manager of a certain age, I find myself enthralled by Professor Wendy Loretto’s research specialism at Edinburgh Business School. Her work revolves around age and employment, with a particular focus on the intersection between gender and age, as well as the changes seen in both employees’ and employers’ attitudes towards extending the working lives of the over-50s. Loretto’s research interests at Edinburgh spring from her avowed passion for diversity; “one of the big aspects of diversity within business schools has been gender diversity at management level”, she notes, “something I’m strongly and publicly committed to and very keen to promote. Of course, there are other issues related to diversity, not just gender, but I think one of the things that I’ve witnessed, since I became dean, is an increase in women in these positions, which has been amazing to experience.” Her commitment to gender diversity within academia is no idle boast: Edinburgh Business School previously obtained bronze accreditation from the highly respected Athena Swan equality charter and more recently achieved silver. A
INTERVIEW
Earlier this month, Loretto took up the position of chair at AMBA & BGA, following a six-year stint by German-born marketing guru Bodo Schlegelmilch (see Ambition September 2023 ). Despite the position being likely to involve a considerable amount of additional work, she declares herself “absolutely delighted” to have been asked to put in a nomination, having served on the board since November 2019. She describes the process of compiling her nomination document. “I always think: ‘How easy will this application be?’ and when I was putting together my nomination statement for AMBA & BGA it came really naturally to me, so I see that as an excellent indicator of the role being a really good fit.” The value of continuous improvement She is fulsome in her praise of the association: “It’s an organisation to be proud of. I have seen both AMBA and BGA become much more dynamic and relevant, with BGA in particular striving to promote sustainability and responsible management within the continuous improvement agenda. I admire how the organisation goes about accreditation; all the big agencies base accreditations on peer review, but I see that aspect very strongly at AMBA & BGA. “That peer factor is evident not just in the accreditations, but in how things are done, such as conferences and workshops; there’s a real emphasis on community and everybody in that community having a part to play and a contribution to make.” Talking about the importance of the accreditation process, she remarks that it is “incredibly vital because it is all about continuous improvement. We’re teaching our students about how things could be done di erently, or better, so it makes complete sense that we’re operating in that same environment. That, for me, is the real power of accreditation.” It’s also very much, in her opinion, about being able to count on help from business school counterparts around the world. “Part of the support comes back to that peer community and having access to those networks; you can say for example, ‘I’m struggling to increase diversity among faculty sta and I know that dean so-and-so has done some great work, I’d like to reach out to them for advice’. There’s the immediate value of the accreditation, but then there’s being part of that network and what that enables.” Dealing with unexpected challenges Looking back on her distinguished career to date, she references her experience at Edinburgh as being of great assistance when it comes to taking on the mantle of AMBA & BGA chair and “continuing the dynamic”, as she phrases it. Her induction as dean
Ambition OCTOBER 2023 | 17
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