Breaking through the Glass Ceiling (Het glazen plafond doorbreken)

Participant: Vivian Wildeboer

Specific Issue: Lack of women in upper and middle management.

Title of campaign: Breaking through the Glass Ceiling (Het glazen plafond doorbreken)

Project outline: What I really want to do is approach companies in the Netherlands and inform them about the opportunities for them if they employ more women and when they make it easier for them to flow trough to higher positions. The best way to do this, I believe, is to approach the employee councils of the companies and give presentations on the issues. Present them with cold hard facts about the pay gap and women in higher management, or the lack there of.
Also I want to make flyers maybe to put in company cafeterias so the women there know what they could do to improve as well as management.

Aims:
Approaching 20 companies by International Women’s Day 2011.
Educating people so they can themselves improve the situation in their company.
Getting rid of the image that women are worse managers than man.

Target Audience: I want to approach employee councils, because I believe they will be more receptive and willing to listen than management boards. I will adept my presentations to the employees. I believe I can be rather informal with them. With a management board I’d have to be very formal. But with this approach I can play into their feelings. And address them with messages like on a rally or something, but also give them options for improving women’s situations.

Scope: Companies in The Hague

Duration: Until International Women’s Day 2011(a little over a year)

Resources:
Flyers
Transport
Time
Info from organizations specialized in glass ceiling and equal opportunities.

Costs:
Flyers: unknown
Transportation costs: If it is during the week it will be for free because I have a OV-Card. Free Public Transport for students.

Delegation of tasks/involvement of others: For now I am not planning on involving other people. I really do not yet know how I would implement them into the project. So right now it’s just me. Except that I will involve some sponsors. First and foremost I want see if I can engage glazenplafondindex.nl, which is an online scan for companies, a scan they can take to see how women-friendly they are. Aside from that I want to see if I can get sponsorship or recognition from the equal treatment institute in the Netherlands, and other women’s organizations in the country. I also want to ask my school to sponsor me. Maybe for flyers.

Development: When successful I could hire people and give presentation on a wider scale.

Feasibility: I think it is very feasible, or at least more feasible than my original plan: Going to boards of directors and management. The employee councils are more approachable.

Timeline: See attachment

Risk Analysis
Qualitative- main risks:
One of the risks is that I do not know how to approach the employee councils. They usually have weekly or monthly meetings and I would be able to present there. But I have not yet figured out how to make contact with them. I do not know if they have e-mail addresses or contact details. So that definitely would be a problem. But they usually do have a web page or website or a link on the company’s corporate website.

Quantitative – measurements of uncertainty and probability:
It is a big risk, and kind of likely to happen.

Risk Management
Response to main risks:
First I’d have to do research the companies to see if they have such an employee council. But it is mandatory for companies of a certain number of employees and up in the Netherlands. And of course I can contact the companies to ask if they have them and see if I can get in touch with them.