Women in leadership programme introduced to tackle gender imbalance in fundraising

The Chartered Institute of Fundraising (IoF) has introduced a new ‘Influence & Impact’ training programme for women in leadership, aiming to tackle gender imbalance in fundraising. The online course is open to fundraising leaders across the world.

Earlier this year, research from the IoF found that women in fundraising are missing out on leadership positions, experiencing systemic and sector-wide barriers to progression in their careers. The report was based on the UK market, but similar concerns have been echoed across the European fundraising community.

Carla Miller, leadership coach and trainer, said: “For a long time, we have known that our fundraising sector has a problem in equal representation at senior levels when it comes to gender.”

“A lot of women in leadership are experiencing similar struggles around influencing, worry and imposter syndrome. Some of them hit a brick wall with either their line manager or a senior decision maker, which means that they struggle to get their team the resources, the respect and the information that they need to succeed. Others spend hours dealing with tensions between their team and other teams and wonder why the value of their team isn’t fully recognised.

“But people can learn to have greater influence and impact, developing their leadership skills. This programme has been set up specifically to help women communicate with confidence, tackling self-doubt, and making more impact at work.”

The programme has been developed to bring together women in leadership and gives them a chance to mentor, support and learn from each other. 

Starting on 15 September 2020, the 3-month virtual programme ‘Influence & Impact for Women in Leadership’ will help women develop both their confidence and their careers.