There are two key strands to the initiative.
Firstly, Stepping Forward provides training, development and support which supplements traditional training. This includes corporate training days, departmental networks and job shadowing.
Secondly, Stepping Forward is effecting organisational and cultural change, from an environment whereby women felt there weren't opportunities available to them, to one where the percentages of employees who are in senior grades has increased over the last five years. Work in this area includes research with regards to work-life balance, corporate and departmental action plans.
The objectives of Stepping Forward have been broadened to include other diversity issues, such as ethnicity and to promote career development and opportunities to all women and men employed by the council.
Although originally implemented to provide career development opportunities for women, the good human resource practices that it has initiated benefited all staff. By ensuring people think about equality and diversity in whatever they do, whether in recruiting, appraising, allocating work etc., you get them to think more about how they are treating their staff and what opportunities are available for them. This is not reserved for women alone.
The various schemes delivered by Stepping Forward have been so successful that in the future it is proposed to open them up to women and men. These have included the following:-
To be successful Stepping Forward needs support from everyone, politicians, senior management and all employees. In order to achieve this, we have had a Chief Officer represented on our Advisory Group, and invited the Council’s Chief Executive to attend events. Councillors are made aware of everything we do through papers and reports to the cabinet.
