What impact could the longer-term move to flexible and hybrid working have on the careers of women civil servants?
Hybrid working has encouraged more professional women to move to full-time work and enabled many to better balance work and other responsibilities. However, it is not a silver bullet, with some governments enforcing returns to the office or refusing flexible working requests and questions remaining about how hybrid working could impact women’s careers.
Join this webinar to find out:
- How hybrid working can benefit women in public service roles
- Some of the potential challenges with managing hybrid workforces/roles, from communication styles to ensuring equitable access to the career ladder
- How to design hybrid working arrangements that foster productivity and inclusion
Panel
Kumbi Kariwo, Health Inequalities Lead, Birmingham Community Health Care NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom
Kumbi Kariwo is a registered Learning Disability Nurse with an impressive 22-year career in the NHS. Her passion for improving patient and service user experiences has driven her to take on various roles within community settings, with a focus on education and early prevention.
In 2016, Kumbi’s pioneering efforts led to the establishment of the Young People’s Sexual Health Service, which was recognised by MP Jess Phillips and commended by the CQC for its impact in addressing inequalities in Birmingham.
The COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted the pressing need to tackle healthcare disparities, and Kumbi has rose to the challenge. In 2021, she was appointed as the first Chief of Nursing Fellow at Birmingham Community Health Care Trust, where she spent 18 months honing her clinical excellence and research capacity in Digital Health and Health Inequalities.
Kumbi’s unwavering commitment to equity, innovation, and patient centred care has cemented her reputation as a trailblazing force in the nursing profession, inspiring positive change and transforming lives within the communities she serves.
Kumbi is chair of the Midlands Digital Shared Decision-Making Council for Nurses, Midwives & AHPs, the Midlands Representative at the National Digital Shared Decision-Making Council and a member of the Queens Nursing Institute Research Forum. Kumbi has also been awarded the Trojan Mouse (Steady and incremental approach to transformation) Award at the Healthcare Excellence Through Technology.
Kumbi’s publications include: ‘How does skin tones affect staff confidence when dealing with pressure ulcers‘, (2023) Wounds International, Vol 14, Issue 2 and ‘Addressing skin tone bias in wound care: assessing signs and symptoms in people with dark skin tones‘, (2021) Wounds UK: Best Practice Statement.
Yadira Guerrero, Senior Leader, Doctoral student, Ed.D., General Leadership, U.S. Small Business Administration, United States
Ms. Guerrero is currently the Chief for Enterprise Human Capital Initiatives (Senior Leader) at the U.S. Small Business Administration. In this role, she leads strategic enterprise-wide talent management projects in support of presidential initiatives, federal laws, regulations, and agency priorities. She plays a critical role in driving human capital management improvements with a hybrid workforce using employee-centric strategies. Specifically, she defined and implemented agency guidance and evaluation efforts related to the post-pandemic work environment and new workplace flexibilities.
Ms. Guerrero previously served as the Chief Learning Officer and Director of Talent Management & Development Services at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. In these roles, she provided direction and oversight for three functional teams to support 2,500 agency personnel in the areas of: talent development, succession management, employee benefits, work-life, and human resources policy and evaluation. At OPM, she also pioneered innovative strategies to develop current and aspiring leaders across the U.S. Federal government.
She is currently a student in the Virginia Commonwealth University Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) program in General Leadership centered on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in collaborative, team-based projects to improve organizational leadership. Ms. Guerrero received her MPS in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from the University of Maryland – Baltimore County.
Natasha Jamal, Director, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility, United States Digital Service
Natasha Jamal is the Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) at the US Digital Service at The White House. In this role, she is focused on removing barriers for underrepresented technologists to thrive in the workplace. This includes leading sessions on mitigating biases in the hiring process, advising on hybrid work practices, analyzing demographic data and employee sentiment, and working closely with leadership team members to build psychological safety. Natasha co-created and leads the USDS DEIA Council and served as executive sponsor for equity and accessibility delivery teams who worked on integrating DEIA practices into service delivery across projects focused on healthcare, homelessness, and disaster relief. She is committed to making government more open and transparent, and helps ensure USDS demographic data is available publicly at usds.gov/deia.
Prior to her experience in government, Natasha served as a Subject Matter Expert on Culture at Gallup, where she established the culture transformation practice and helped organizations get clear on defining behaviors related to organizational values. She started her career in education where she learned about equity issues from an intersectional lens. Natasha has an MBA from from Georgetown University and a Masters in Education from Stanford University.
Webinar chair: Sarah Wray, Editor, Global Government Forum
Sarah has over 15 years’ experience as a journalist with a specialism in the public sector and topics such as digitalisation and climate action. Sarah was formerly the editor of Cities Today and Smart Cities World, as well as a specialist video-based publication in the aerospace sector. She has also written for publications including Smart Cities Dive, Mobile Europe, Mobile World Live and Computer Weekly.
