The Women@Berkeley Network goes from strength to strength

Active across both the UK and US, the Women@Berkeley Network was re-established in 2021 to focus on fostering a truly inclusive environment at Berkeley, where every woman has the opportunity to fulfil their potential. It plays a key role in helping both Berkeley to achieve its DE&I ambitions and our women to succeed professionally and personally. 

The Network was founded with four key principles in mind:

• To listen and act – we are action-focused to drive change, rather than just discussing issues
• To be responsible – we are empowered to make change within the firm 
• To be always improving – to learn from others knowing that development is a continual journey 
• To be inclusive – to foster participation, allyship and connection among men and women, and across all parts of the business (partners, consultants and business services).

Achieving real outcomes for women in our workplace

These principles have served the Network well with key achievements making a real impact at Berkeley.

We have ensured that the firm’s flexible working policy is practical and provides equity for ambitious women. Our extensive review of the firm’s employment benefits ensured they fully met women’s needs, including the introduction of a Menopause Policy that provided tangible support for our women experiencing the physiological and psychological symptoms of menopause. 

We ‘lift as we climb’ through the establishment of our own Women’s Mentoring Programme, the introduction of networking for women so we can role-play and scenario-plan to increase confidence, and have also brought back the learning from external training of relevance to our women, sharing knowledge, camaraderie and insight.

Our annual Women Connect programme provides a forum to further facilitate networking, voice our challenges and support each other in addressing these. Importantly, we have fun along the way. Being active and learning together has been a great way to enjoy each other’s company and develop a strong sense of community.

Celebrating and championing women beyond Berkeley 

Women@Berkeley has made an impact by helping women into the workplace through supporting charities such as Smart Works and Bottomless Closet. We also collaborate with other organisations in our network, assisting them in establishing their own networks and/or mentoring programmes. We have lots of support materials so please get in touch if you’d like to find out more, share your ideas or broaden your group’s reach.