When an organisation comes to us and says their previous women’s leadership programme ‘wasn’t as effective as hoped,’ we’re not surprised. We hear it regularly. The reason is almost always the same: the programme focused on developing the women, but left the system entirely unchanged.
That’s not a women’s leadership problem. That’s an organisational design problem.
Jenny Garrett Global is a UK women’s leadership consultancy with over 20 years’ experience designing and delivering women’s leadership programmes for organisations in the energy, healthcare, public sector, and financial services industries. Our programmes are built on a simple principle: it isn’t about changing the woman. It’s about setting the stage so she can be her best.
Women’s Leadership Programmes for UK Organisations – How Ascend Works
Before we design anything, we listen. Through focus groups and diagnostic work, we build a picture of what’s really happening – not what the organisation assumes is happening.
What we consistently find are five interconnected challenges that women face in organisations across the UK.
- Women progressing into senior roles often find themselves the only female voice in the room. That experience – however confident the individual – is isolating and exhausting. Without visible role models who reflect their identity, ambition can quietly diminish.
- Workplace structures are frequently designed around a default model that doesn’t account for the full range of people’s lives. The 4:30pm meeting. The golf day. The assumption that flexibility is a childcare issue rather than a human one. These aren’t minor inconveniences – they accumulate into barriers.
- Feedback given to women is disproportionately focused on style rather than substance. Research consistently shows that women receive feedback on their tone, voice, and communication style at rates far higher than men. This creates a double bind: be authentic and be criticised, or conform and lose what makes you distinctive. We explore practical ways to address this in our piece on 37 ways to embrace equity in the workplace – tip 13 addresses feedback bias directly.
- Informal networks in many industries remain male-dominated. The connections that actually open doors – the advocacy, the introductions, the mentions in rooms women aren’t in – often happen in spaces women can’t easily access.
- And underpinning all of this: unconscious bias in hiring, promotion, and day-to-day feedback that goes unaddressed because it’s invisible to those perpetuating it.
What Ascend does differently
Ascend is our flagship women’s leadership programme, currently in delivery with a major UK energy organisation, we have also delivered it within the Financial Services sector and Higher Education sector and it is available to organisations across sectors.
What makes it different from generic women’s development programmes is the Tri-Level approach. We don’t just develop the women on the programme. We simultaneously develop their line managers and engage senior leader sponsors. All three levels. At the same time.
This matters because a woman can leave a development day feeling more confident, clearer on her strengths, and ready to step up – and then walk back into a culture that immediately undoes that progress. Unless the managers and sponsors around her are also developing, the system remains unchanged.
The programme runs over eight months and includes four face-to-face development days covering authentic leadership, influential communication, strategic networking, and resilience and wellbeing. These are supported by peer coaching groups, one-to-one coaching, and dedicated sessions for line managers and senior sponsors throughout.
The result is not just individual growth. It’s measurable cultural shift – with 35%+ of participants promoted during the programme itself, and 98% recommending it.
In practice: what participants say
We are currently delivering the Ascend programme with a major UK energy organisation – and the results at the midway point speak for themselves.
Every single participant reported that the programme is having a tangible impact on how they lead, communicate, and show up. 100% participants said they are really enjoying the programme – and the same proportion rated their senior sponsor support as extremely helpful, which tells us the system around them is working, not just the programme itself.
The number one takeaway at midway? Self-advocacy. Participants described a fundamental shift in how they think about visibility and networking – moving from seeing these as extras to understanding them as core parts of the job. That’s not a small mindset shift. That’s the kind of change that drives progression.
In their own words:
“It’s not enough to do a good job – you need to work at self-advocacy and networking and consider it as part of the day job.”
“The effective communication content has been very useful. It has allowed me to make changes to the way I come across. The strengths, coaching and sponsorship has also been very effective.”
“It’s not about changing who you are but more about how you come across.”
“It is making me rethink how I am doing things and understand my leadership style better.”
What strikes us most at this stage is not just the individual growth – it’s the speed at which the cohort has formed a genuine community. Participants are supporting one another actively between sessions, not just within them. That peer network becomes one of the most enduring outcomes of the programme long after it ends.
Why we design it with you, not for you
Every organisation that comes to us is facing a version of the same challenges – but the specifics are always different. The industry context, the existing culture, the stage of the leadership journey. That’s why Ascend is co-created with each organisation rather than delivered off the shelf.
We run focus groups before we design anything. We listen to what women in your organisation are actually experiencing. We build the programme around that – not around what we’ve delivered before.
We work with 10 to 15 organisations at a time because this level of depth and partnership doesn’t scale beyond that.
Is your organisation ready?
If you’re an HR Director, Chief People Officer, or Talent leader who knows your organisation has a women’s leadership gap – in representation, in retention, in progression – and you’ve tried generic solutions that haven’t moved the dial, we should talk.
The Ascend programme can be commissioned for your organisation. Every engagement starts with a conversation.
Frequently asked questions about women’s leadership programmes
What is a women’s leadership programme?
A women’s leadership programme is a structured development initiative designed to support women in progressing their careers, building confidence, and developing the skills needed for senior leadership. The most effective programmes don’t just work with the women themselves – they also develop line managers and senior sponsors simultaneously, addressing systemic barriers rather than placing the burden of change on individuals.
How long does a women’s leadership programme last?
Effective women’s leadership programmes typically run over six to twelve months. Shorter interventions can build awareness but rarely shift culture or create the sustained behaviour change needed for lasting progression. The Ascend programme runs over eight months, combining face-to-face development days, peer coaching groups, one-to-one coaching, and integrated manager and sponsor sessions.
What makes a women’s leadership programme effective?
The evidence is clear that programmes focused only on the women themselves – without engaging the wider organisational system – are less likely to succeed. The most effective programmes work at three levels simultaneously: developing the women, building manager capability, and creating active senior sponsorship. This is the foundation of JGG’s Tri-Level approach, which has achieved 35%+ promotion rates and 98% recommendation scores across programmes.
Can the Ascend programme be commissioned for any organisation?
Yes. While Ascend is currently being delivered with a major UK energy organisation, it is available to organisations across sectors. Every engagement is co-created – we run focus groups before we design anything, so the programme is built around what women in your specific organisation are actually experiencing, not a generic template.
How is Jenny Garrett Global different from other women’s leadership consultancies?
JGG has been designing and delivering women’s leadership programmes for over 20 years. What makes our approach distinctive is the Tri-Level methodology – working simultaneously with diverse talent, their line managers, and senior sponsors – and the fact that we work with a maximum of 10 to 15 organisations at a time. That depth of partnership is what produces measurable results rather than one-off interventions that fade.
How do I commission a women’s leadership programme for my organisation?
Every engagement starts with a conversation. Contact Jenny Garrett Global to discuss your organisation’s specific challenges and we will explore whether and how we can design a programme that fits.
About Jenny Garrett OBE
Jenny Garrett is founder and CEO of Jenny Garrett Global, a boutique leadership development consultancy specialising in Inclusive Leadership, Entrepreneurial Leadership, and AI-Ready Leadership. Awarded an OBE for services to Entrepreneurship and Women in Business, Jenny has over 20 years’ experience designing women’s leadership programmes for organisations including the NHS, UK Parliament, and major private and energy sector clients. She is the author of Rocking Your Role and co-author of AI for Equity: Creating a More Equitable Society for All (Emerald Publishing, September 2026).
Explore all Inclusive Leadership services: jennygarrett.global/services/inclusive-leadership/
