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🎓 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Women in Leadership Course

🌍 In-Person & Online Worldwide
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Women continue to be underrepresented in senior leadership roles across nearly every sector and region, not due to a lack of capability, but due to specific structural and interpersonal barriers that require specific strategies to navigate. This course builds practical leadership skills alongside genuine strategies for navigating bias, building sponsorship and advancing sustainably.

15-25%higher profitability for companies in the top quartile for gender diversity in leadership
2xfaster advancement for women with active sponsors versus mentors alone
280+women trained by Matsh in this programme

Common challenges this course addresses:

  • You have strong leadership capability but struggle with visibility for advancement opportunities
  • You are unsure how to navigate workplace bias without it undermining your confidence or standing
  • You have mentors but lack sponsors who actively advocate for you in rooms you are not in
  • You struggle to balance assertiveness with the double-bind of gendered expectations at work
  • You lack a clear strategy for building the internal network that drives career advancement

This course builds practical leadership skills alongside genuine strategies for navigating barriers and advancing sustainably.

Who Should Attend

👔

Mid-Career Professional Women

Those building toward senior leadership roles.

💼

Emerging Leaders

Women recently moved into or approaching first leadership roles.

🏢

Senior Women Executives

Those wanting to strengthen sponsorship and advocacy skills.

👥

Women in Male-Dominated Sectors

Those navigating particularly challenging cultural dynamics.

🌍

Women in Development and NGO Leadership

Those advancing within mission-driven organisational contexts.

🎓

Early Career Women

Those building leadership foundations from the start of their careers.

What You Will Leave With

Practical tools applicable immediately.

Executive presence skills, projecting confidence and credibility authentically
Bias navigation strategies, managing workplace bias without losing confidence
Sponsorship-building techniques, moving from mentorship to active advocacy relationships
Assertiveness within the double-bind, balancing directness and likeability expectations
Strategic networking skills, building the internal visibility that drives advancement
A personal advancement plan, concrete next steps for your specific career context

What Participants Report

From follow-up surveys 60 days after the programme

79%reported increased confidence in leadership settings
66%actively pursued a sponsorship relationship after the course
280+women trained across all cohorts
"I had mentors for years who gave good advice but never advocated for me when I was not in the room. Understanding the difference between mentorship and sponsorship, and actively building the latter, is what actually moved my career forward."
Senior Manager, financial services sector

Programme Outline

1
Executive Presence and Authentic Leadership

Why this module matters: Executive presence is a learnable set of behaviours, and building it authentically, rather than imitating a different leadership style, produces more sustainable confidence.

  • Building genuine executive presence rather than imitating other styles
  • Communicating with confidence and credibility in high-stakes settings
  • Identifying and leveraging your own authentic leadership strengths
2
Navigating Workplace Bias

Why this module matters: Understanding specific forms of bias, rather than experiencing them as vague unfairness, allows for concrete, effective navigation strategies.

  • Recognising common forms of bias affecting women's career advancement
  • Practical strategies for navigating bias without losing confidence or standing
  • Addressing the double-bind of assertiveness and likeability directly
3
Sponsorship and Strategic Networking

Why this module matters: Sponsors who actively advocate for you in rooms you are not in accelerate advancement significantly more than mentorship alone.

  • The critical difference between mentorship and genuine sponsorship
  • Strategies for building sponsor relationships deliberately
  • Strategic networking that builds internal visibility and advocacy
4
Sustainable Advancement and Personal Application

Why this module matters: Advancing sustainably, without burnout, requires deliberate strategy rather than simply working harder, and this final module builds a concrete personal plan.

  • Building sustainable career strategies that avoid burnout
  • Balancing advancement ambition with genuine wellbeing
  • Personal leadership and advancement plan for the next 12 months
Course At a Glance
Duration3-5 Days
FormatIn-person and online
What's IncludedWorkbook, practical toolkit, certificate of completion

Common Questions

Does this course address specific cultural contexts for women in leadership?

Yes. The course addresses navigating leadership advancement across different cultural and organisational contexts, recognising that specific barriers and effective strategies vary meaningfully.

Is this course only relevant for women already in leadership roles?

No. The course is relevant across career stages, from early career professionals building leadership foundations to senior women refining sponsorship and advocacy skills.

Related Courses

Ready to Advance Your Leadership With Confidence and Strategy?

Build practical leadership skills alongside genuine strategies for navigating barriers and advancing sustainably.

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🏢 Need In-House Training?

We run this course as a private programme for organisations. Bespoke dates, tailored content, group pricing.

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