Reviewing career progression options for women business support professionals

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Reviewing career progression options for women
business support professionals

• Jill Venus
• University of Wales Lampeter
• November 11, 2004

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Career progression for women business support
professionals

• Workshop Proposal
• The majority of women who work specifically as
  womens business support professionals, have a
  strong personal commitment to the aims and ideals
  of the sector in which they are positioned.
  However, many such women will need to consider
  leaving the sector in order to develop their own
  careers. This can create personal dilemmas for
  the individuals concerned.
• This workshop will utilise various personal and
  career review techniques to help delegates
  explore the options for their own career
  development.

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Career progression for women business support
professionals

• Aims
• To consider
• the motivations and characteristics of women who
  work in this sector
• the career aspirations of women in the sector
• the support and career development opportunities
  that women in the sector would like
• the types of support and career development
  opportunities that are offered to women in the
  sector

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Career progression for women business support
professionals

• There are many different approaches and
  techniques used by individuals when exploring
  personal/career development issues
• All will include elements of
• Review of personal contextual history (how have I
  got here?)
• Skills audit (what can I do, what can I do well?)
• Values audit (what do I really value?)
• Aspirations audit (what do I really want to
  do/be, and why?)
• Consideration of personal priorities and shaping
  factors
• Options review
• Gap assessment (skills to develop, experiences
  to gain, things to do?)

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Career progression for women business support
professionals

• Motivations
• Women most likely to be motivated by
• Personal fulfilment
• Self determination
• Challenge
• Personal ambition
• Financial security (rather than money per sae)
• Independence freedom (especially in relation to
  self employment)

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Career progression for women business support
professionals

• Motivations
• Women business support professionals
• Why are you doing the job you are doing? What
  really brought you to this? What are your
  motivations?
• Managers and Others
• Why do women business support professionals do
  the jobs they are doing? What brings them to this
  work? What are their motivations?

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Career progression for women business support
professionals

• Career progression
• Women business support professionals
• What do you see as the career progression options
  from your current role?
• Managers and Others
• Construct the career opportunities framework that
  the work of women business support professionals
  fits into.

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Career progression for women business support
professionals

• Career /personal planning processes
• Women business support professionals
• What techniques, approaches, courses have you
  used?
• Are there things you have thought about/or would
  want to try?
• Managers and Others
• What are some appropriate career planning tools
  for women business support professionals?

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Career progression for women business support
professionals

• Support career development
• Women business support professionals
• What support and career development opportunities
  do you want?
• Managers and Others
• What support and career development opportunities
  are available for women business support
  professionals / what do you offer?

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Career progression for women business support
professionals

• Next Steps
• What are you going to take away from this
  workshop?
• What could you do next?