Welcome to your HRD Connect update!

Happy International Women’s Day! I hope your day, week, and year is full of empowerment!

To mark International Women’s Day we have some great content to share. Firstly, HRD Summit’s keynote speaker, Nilofer Merchant, speaks about the importance of being heard and not adhering to convention in an exclusive video interview, which you can find below. Secondly, we interviewed Dee Jas, People Director at Girl Effect, an independent non-profit organisation designed to empower girls and women from poverty-stricken backgrounds and allowing them to reach their full potential in their careers. The work carried out at Girl Effect is based on its belief that when given the opportunity, girls are able to lift their countries out of poverty. Dee urges companies and leaders alike to give gender equality a voice.

“They say it will take a further 217 years to achieve gender parity in the workforce and politics… We don’t need 217, nor should we accept it!” – Dee Jas, People Director, Girl Effect.

We also hear from Gertrude Oforiwa Fefoame, disabilities advocate (and is visually impaired herself ) who discusses the importance of educating business leaders about disability in the workplace. This June, Gertrude will be running for the United Nation’s Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) after being nominated by Ghana’s government.

Do you think you can craft your own future of work? We spoke to a panel of experts about AI, wellbeing and remote working, and how they will play a huge part in the future of our workplaces.

It’s also National Apprenticeship Week, and to mark this Sue Husband, Director of the National Apprenticeship Service, busts 10 myths surrounding apprenticeships and your business.

Join the conversation around International Women’s Day with the hashtag #PressForProgress and tweet us at @HRDCommunity.

I hope you enjoy the features.

Best wishes,

Emily Sexton-Brown,

Editor, HRD Connect