Oxford Women's Leadership Development Programme

Increase your impact as a woman in a leadership position.

Developed from a study of women CEOs by Oxford Saïd academics, the Oxford Women’s Leadership Development Programme helps to address many of the barriers that women must overcome in order to pursue their ambitions in leadership and management roles.

The programme is guided by three overarching themes:

• Self-acceptance
• Self-management
• Self-development

The learning has been designed to better equip women with the tools to navigate challenges and gender biases within the workplace, and develop the critical leadership skills to effectively guide, influence, and mentor others.

Examine your role as a female leader as you gain skills to facilitate self-acceptance and self-development by acknowledging your own agency. Aided by tools and resources for self-management, you’ll learn to effectively navigate negotiation scenarios using your strengths and influence.

Delivered in collaboration with digital education provider GetSmarter, a 2U, Inc. brand, you will be part of a community learning together through a dedicated Online Campus.

• Create a personal development plan so that you may move into the future with confidence as a female leader
• Critically examine your own identity as a leader and recognise your leadership potential
• Understand how to respond to culture and gender assumptions
• Take ownership of your career and learn to leverage your strengths and identify limiting behaviours
• Evaluate a range of methods and resources for developing as a woman in a leadership context
• Join a global network of current and aspiring female leaders who are preparing to broaden their impact and influence
• Benefit from guidance from leading industry experts and Oxford Saïd faculty 
• Membership of the official Oxford Saïd elumni community
• Access to the official Oxford Executive Education Elumni group on LinkedIn

The programme plays its part in the extensive research, programmes, and activities across Oxford Saïd dedicated to female leadership development. With ongoing work into the critical area of increasing women’s impact and influence at leadership and management levels, Women at Oxford Saïd collates together the landscape of development that Oxford is helping to facilitate.

Participants will benefit from all that the Oxford community is sharing in this environment of women’s leadership development. Drawing on a learning approach that is rooted in an emphasis on reflection and sharing within a ‘safe space.’

The structure is influenced by extensive research, tools, and frameworks, including:  

• Claiming the corner office (Anathasopolou, Smets, Moss-Cowan, Morris)
• Critical, tame, and wicked problems framework (Keith Grint)
• Strengths-based leadership model (David Pendleton)
• Strategies for influencing (HAY’s taxonomy)
• Six styles of leadership (Goleman)

• Amanda Ellis - Executive Director, ASU Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability
• Andie Athanasopoulou - Associate Fellow, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
• Andrew Gibbons - Leadership Coach, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
• Anita Grover - Chief Executive, Auditory Verbal UK
• Claire Andrews - Leadership Coach, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
• Danielle Brown - Paralympian and Head of Training and Development, Kaleidoscope Investment
• Dessi Berhane Silassie - PAC General Counsel and Global Head of IP Legal, MD, IHS Markit
• Emma Sergeant - President Europe, DAS Group of Companies
• Lisa Broderick - Partner & Location Head, DAC Beachcroft LLP
• Mary Ellen Iskenderian - President and CEO, Women’s World Banking
• Michael Gates - Group Managing Director, Richard Lewis Communications
• Pinky Lilani - Founder and Chairman, Women of the Future
• Gillian Charlesworth - Group CEO, Building Research Establishment
• Ian Goldin - Professor of Globalisation and Development, University of Oxford
• John Lombard - CEO NTT Ltd, Asia Pacific
• Rohini Anand - SVP Corporate Responsibility and Global Chief Divers Officer, Sodexo
• Sara Beck - Former COO of Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
• Shefali Roy - COO at TrueLayer and Fintech Industry Advisor, University of Oxford
• Virginia Clegg - Senior Partner, DAC Beachcroft LLP

If you are looking to integrate Oxford online programmes with your organisation’s learning and development strategy, we have tailored solutions to help deliver an innovative learning experience across teams.