Building a Women's Support Programme Inside a Corporate Multinational

Context

Women across the organisation were navigating significant transitions, from career inflection points to pregnancy and return from maternity leave to perimenopause, largely without institutional support. The gap was felt widely. No one had formally named it or built anything around it.

Approach

Naming it was the first act. A sentiment assessment, structured conversations and surveys, gave women in the organisation a channel to say what they were actually experiencing. The data confirmed what many already suspected and made the case undeniable: this was not a peripheral concern.

A six-pillar programme followed: mentoring, career advancement, workplace accommodations, training, role model events, and personal branding. The pillars were designed to reinforce each other rather than operate in isolation. An external consultant was brought in to hold space for conversations about matrescence and menopause, critical phases in a woman's professional life that rarely find their way into corporate programmes despite their direct impact on retention, performance, and wellbeing.

A steering committee was formed, a budget aligned, and internal owners identified and briefed. The design intention from the beginning was that the programme would outlast the involvement of the person who built it.

Results

The programme moved from a recognised gap to a functioning initiative with committed internal owners, an allocated budget, and a working framework. The organisation continued to develop it independently after the engagement ended.