Women, leadership and the long game

WHAT THE AUDIENCE LEAVES WITH

01What sustains leadership over decades, not only the first breakthrough

02The structures, from ownership to governance, that decide who stays

03Practical choices for women leading organisations, and for those who support them

Conversations about women in leadership tend to concentrate on the way in, meaning the first senior role, the first board seat and the first funding round. Those moments matter, and the obstacles to them are real. Less attention is paid to what follows, when the question is no longer whether a woman can get into the room but whether she can stay in it long enough to change what happens there.

This talk is about that longer game. It looks at building authority that does not depend on a title, at making decisions that will be judged over ten years rather than one, and at choosing which battles to fight now and which to leave for later.

It also looks at the structures around individual women, which often decide more than individual effort does. Mentoring and confidence have their place, but so do ownership, pay, governance and the plain question of who holds the equity when a company succeeds. These structures are far easier to set at the beginning than to change at the end.

Dr Jackie Nagtegaal has spent around two decades building and leading organisations in South Africa and the UK, and was named one of the top five women in legal tech. The talk is for women building or leading organisations, and for those who back, promote and work alongside them.

FORMATS

Keynote, 30 to 45 minutes
Panel or fireside conversation
Leadership programme session

SUITS

Women's networks, leadership programmes, corporate women's initiatives, professional associations

SHAPED TO THE EVENT

Length, format and emphasis are agreed with each organiser.