Manchester Airports Group and the Northern Power Women campaign have announced that they have entered into a major new partnership to drive gender equality in and from the North.
The two organisations will collaborate on a range of activities and campaigns that will promote women and gender equality, which they hope will have an impact across the entire UK.
Charlie Cornish, CEO of Manchester Airports Group, said,
“As one of the largest employers in the North and a key driver behind the Northern Powerhouse agenda, we are proud and privileged to be entering into a special partnership with Northern Power Women to promote gender diversity across the UK.
“Creating a work environment that allows people to be the best professionally and personally is critical to the long term success of UK business.”
Simone Roche, Founder and CEO of Northern Power Women, agreed and said that the new partnership felt almost inevitable given their shared interests.
“The Northern Power Women campaign has been driving the interests of employers and individuals interested in promoting gender equality in and from the North since 2013 and we’ve always been keen to partner with high-profile employers.
“Our shared interests in this area, along with our mutual status as partners of the Northern Powerhouse, makes this a natural partnering.
“Both of our organisations are driving change when it comes to gender equality in and from the North. We’re not going to settle for anything less and we plan to use our influence to create change across all of the UK.”
With a report from respected consultancy, McKinsey, stating that for every 10% improvement in gender diversity, there’s a 2-4% increase in profitability, there are sound business reasons for improving gender equality in all business.
Simone said that Northern Power Women’s own research has shown that female leaders do think differently.
“Our first research paper showed that women view their roles as leaders in quite a different way to men, so it makes sense that they would bring different things to the table when it comes to business. We also know that there are different barriers to women developing their careers so we’ll be using this research when we work with Manchester Airports Group to make sure we’re offering and supporting tailored solutions.
“Of course, all women are different, so it’s not going to be a one-size-fits-all solution, so we’ll also be taking account of our successes throughout this partnership to develop and tailor even more initiatives to make sure we’re reaching as many businesses – and women and men in businesses – as possible.
Simone was also adamant that this partnership was just the beginning of Northern Power Women’s work with high-profile employers.
“We know there’s huge support for gender diversity in the workplace and we want to extend our partnerships to work with more employers who support this idea. Our campaign can and will change perceptions and realities of gender diversity and gender equality, and with partners like Manchester Airports Group, it’s just a matter of time.”
