On the 14 March 2023 the London Women in Leadership Network: Male Allies group hosted a day of virtual listening to explore women’s lived experience in the workplace and understand the barriers to progression. These events were designed to provide a safe space for women working in the NHS with a purpose to:

• Enable women in the NHS finance community in London to share details of their lived experience and barriers in the work place
• Develop clearer understanding of the current challenges and potential barriers faced by women in the NHS
• Bring women from diverse backgrounds together to listen to each other and share stories
• Increase the understanding around what actions Male Allies can take to support women into leadership roles
• You will be free to share as much information as you feel comfortable with – you don’t need to share personal details to contribute to the discussion.

The day was facilitated by Sally Baines. OD, transformation, leadership and executive coach. Sally spent more than 35 years in the NHS, initially as a qualified nurse and with 30+ years in Human Resource and Organisational Change roles. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Sally has over 10 years in Board level roles in the NHS in primary care, secondary care, regional and national NHS organisations.

Following the event, the feedback was collated and a report was composed to outline the key messages from the sessions and summarise the suggested action areas raised by the groups.