Case Study: Training and Development - Department for International Development

Through its regular workforce monitoring, DFID identified that women were underrepresented at the Senior Civil Service (SCS) and feeder grade level. The Department undertook qualitative research to identify the barriers to women’s career progression. As a result, DFID has set itself a target to increase the percentage of women in the SCS from 29% to 37% by 2008 (to match the Civil Service Diversity targets) and has introduced a range of measures to achieve this:

• Redefining success and challenging traditional models of a ‘successful’ person which are often unwittingly based on historical male stereotypes.
• Promotion panels have been trained in diversity and asked to be more rigorous in their criteria for success, basing it more on the ability of the person to deliver outcomes, rather than views about whether they ‘fit’ into the organisation
• Crossing Thresholds programme to develop women in the pipeline. This involves career planning workshops, partnering with an SCS mentor, peer group support networks and coaching sessions.
• Setting aside four places on the Civil Service Preparing for Top Management Programme for women.
• Joining up with the Home Office and HM Revenue and Customs to pilot a leadership programme to develop women in transition to deputy directors. DFID is supporting four women on this programme.
• Continuing to roll out flexible working practices, including a major investment in remote working technology.
• Extending work to challenge the long hours culture in the SCS.

As at November 2006, 36% of the SCS is female, so the DFID and Civil Service target of 37% is almost met. (There are a total of 89 people in the SCS as of 2007.) The proportion of women in the feeder grade is now 38% exceeding the 2008 target of 35%.

The Crossing Thresholds Programme currently works with 37 women and 35 SCS staff act as mentors to the group. The Department is adapting the programme for other under-represented groups, including men and women from black and minority ethnic backgrounds.

All SCS and feeder grade posts are available on flexible working patterns unless there are strong reasons why this is not appropriate. This enables the SCS to be more open to people’s work/life balance.