Women Leadership and Male Allyship Programs at Climate & Company

For the second time already, Climate & Company has nominated 12 women among its staff to join an in-house 3-month Authentic Women Leadership Program this year. And because we believe that gender balance will only be possible if we do it together, we are very proud to launch a “Male Allyship & Male Leadership” Inclusive Leadership Program for 6 of our male colleagues this summer.

Climate & Company’s Authentic Women Leadership Program is a reminder of how powerful women already are

Differently from classic “women empowerment trainings” where women are often taught how to become “tougher” and “more courageous” to “survive” in male-dominated senior work environments, the success story of the Climate & Company Authentic Women Leadership Program lied in its unique approach: instead of teaching the participating women to “toughen up”, our host and leadership trainer Helene Banner always reminds women of how powerful they already are.

Starting with an in-person opening session in Brussels, Helene Banner’s teachings on self-worth, public speaking and career goals were designed to give the participants confidence in their natural feminine leadership skills: their empathy, their emotional intelligence and their „we“ approach to leadership. These are leadership skills that are much needed to create more balance in work cultures, especially in the still very masculine-dominated contexts in the sustainable finance world.

At Climate & Company we want to create a safe space among colleagues

The results keep inspiring us at Climate & Company: over 3 months, the online trainings, 1-1 coachings and in-person conferences created a safe space for our amazing team to grow their confidence and exchange experience, creating “a deeper connection with colleagues – celebrating womanhood!”, as one participant wrote in her feedback. One participant shared that the program changed her perspective on herself at work: “I feel more confident and know what I have to offer is valuable.”

At Climate & Company, Male Allyship is the basis for gender balance

But we did not stop there. If we really want to support women, we cannot leave the men in our team out of the discussion. Change in leadership cultures will only be possible if we stop putting the “burden of change” on women’s shoulders only. That is why we are extremely proud that this June, we launched the first “Male Allyship & Male Leadership” Inclusive Leadership Program for 6 of our male colleagues, hosted by Helene as well.

This truly innovative 6-week program supports the participants to be confident leaders in a changing leadership environment in which their gender-sensitive and inclusive leadership skills will be increasingly required.

Helene Banner’s Male Allyship & Male Leadership program creates a safe space for men to raise any question

In the first part, participants gain clarity on their leadership identity, values and their career goals. Then, they receive concrete tools to become more inclusive leaders by growing their emotional intelligence skills. And finally, the program introduces them to the concept of “male allyship” to grow their awareness of daily sexism, structural discrimination and their key day-to-day role to change that. Rather than being a “moral” institution, every session is framed as an invitation to change perspective, ask any question and provide a safe discussion space to become true change-makers in Climate & Company by widening the participants’ leadership focus on being male allies.

We truly hope that more organisations will follow our path and not stop at supporting the women in their team. As an inspiration, here are both program overviews:

• “Authentic Women Leadership Program”: https://www.helenebanner.com/climateandcompany-women-leadership
• Male Allyship & Male Leadership” Inclusive Leadership Program: https://www.helenebanner.com/climateandcompany-men-leadership

Thank you to Keynote Speaker, moderator, and inspiring workshop host Helene Banner for hosting both programs for us with her tremendous experience.

Some impressions from the first Women Leadership Program Kick Off in Brussels in November 2023:

Photo Cedits: Title photo by Cynthia Magana on Unsplash & private photos