Workforce Gender Equality Accelerated Program

The Engendering Utilities Workforce Gender Equality Accelerated Program is a leadership program that develops the skills and tools needed to increase gender equality, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace.

Increasing gender equality in the workplace has become a priority for organizations around the world, and research shows gender diversity is correlated with improved company performance. Today, most organizations are working to recruit and retain more women in order to improve productivity, build resiliency, and improve their brand and reputation.

The Workforce Gender Equality Accelerated Program is a six-month program that consists of organizational gender equality assessments, a seven-week virtual course, and four months of change management coaching that prepares managers to become agents of change within their organizations. The course develops the skills managers need to:

• Identify gender equality gaps within their organization.
• Develop a business case that demonstrates how gender equality will benefit the organization’s bottom-line.
• Take targeted, tangible, and strategic action, grounded in assessment, to increase gender equality in their organization.
• Strengthen leadership and change management skills and exercise more influence to create an equitable and diverse workplace.
• Effectively engage other male and female leaders within their organization in support of desired change.

The Accelerated Program is designed for female and male managers who wish to develop their gender equality expertise, boost their influence, and spearhead change within their organization. Operations leaders, HR managers, and managers of other support functions who are strategically placed within their organizations to influence change are encouraged to apply. Each program accepts up to fifty participants, and organizations are required to send two to three employees.

The Accelerated Program focuses on developing and improving company culture, policies, and practices that advance gender equality, and is most applicable to companies that have (or are in the process of developing) standard human resource practices.

Is your organization interested in leading this change and nominating qualified employees to join one of the virtual programs in 2021? Fill out this brief organizational expression of interest and we will be in touch with the registration package and application!

Accelerated Program Modules and Virtual Structure

Participants of the Accelerated Program will partake in a rapid organizational gender assessment and self-assessment, a seven-week virtual program, and change management coaching over a six-month period. The curriculum draws from USAID’s toolkit, Delivering Gender Equality: A Best Practices Framework for Male-Dominated Industries, which demonstrates methods for introducing gender equality initiatives at each phase of the employee lifecycle. Intended to be a catalyst for change, this program provides a holistic, practical learning environment that ensures success for participating employees and their organizations. Following the program, participants will receive virtual coaching to help them successfully drive change, improve gender equality, and build resilience in their organization. View our program brochure provided above to learn more about the objectives of the program.

Accelerated Program Facilitators and Regional Academic Partners

The program is facilitated by an international team of Engendering Utilities change-management and gender equality experts in conjunction with faculty and staff from academic and regional partners. This includes Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business Gender Equity Executive Leadership Program (GEELP), the Johns Hopkins University Self-Empowerment and Equity for Change (SEE Change) Initiative, Fulbright University in Vietnam, Universidad de los Andes in Colombia, Lagos Business School in Nigeria, Energy Regulators Regional Association (ERRA) in Hungary, the Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) in Kenya, and the Men Engage Alliance. Facilitators have more than 15 years of experience in gender equality, leadership, change management, and human resources management. The program is designed to be delivered in person over the course of one week, but will be delivered virtually in 2021 due to COVID-19, with program modules spread over a seven-week period. Following the program, participants will receive three months of virtual coaching to implement the action plan developed during the program.