#LeadingWithPurpose Spotlight: Clare Roberts, Communications & Institutional Affairs Director at Leonardo

Our #LeadingWithPurpose Spotlight interview series sees organisational leaders explain what leading with purpose means to them and how they strive to make their organisation a force for good in society.

In this episode, read how Clare Roberts, Communications & Institutional Affairs Director at Leonardo, does so.

How do you find purpose in your work? 

I find purpose in my work every day by encouraging other women to find their voice within industry, so that they can grow into leadership roles. There is still a lot of work to do, but I’m proud to work for a company that is making big strides in closing the gender pay gap, championing gender equality, and supporting women into engineering careers through STEM outreach. 

Research confirms that men will apply for roles if they meet around 60% of the job’s criteria, while women still don’t feel they can apply unless and until they can fulfil 100% of the requirements. I find purpose through motivating women across our business to apply for promotions and senior roles, reinforcing their self-belief and awareness of their skill-sets, so that they can imagine themselves moving forward as business leaders. As the Chair of our ‘Equalise’ network group said to me recently: “If you can’t see it, you can’t be it.”

What are some of the things your organisation taken to break down barriers to opportunity?  

In order to break down barriers for women, we have introduced a number of initiatives at Leonardo. Our gender balance network group, Equalise, was set up to support the development, advancement and engagement of a gender-balanced workforce. It is open for everyone in the company to join, and they meet regularly to organise events that raise awareness of the issues that women face. By fostering an environment where everyone feel welcome, a safe space is created where diverse experiences can be shared and reflected upon in order to create meaningful change. 

One of the biggest issues our industry faces is women leaving their roles mid-career. In order to combat this, we lauched a STEM Returners programme to enable candidates to restart their career following a break. This is open to anyone who has taken a break from a STEM career, for whatever reason, but is particularly helpful for women – who may have had to take a career break to have children or care for older relatives – and want to get back into work while overcoming recruitment processes that favour CVs without gaps. 

Our extensive STEM outreach programmes also place a high emphasis on breaking down barriers to entry for young people. We want to start early in young people’s education, dispelling the myth that engineering is not for women. These misconceptions are often passed down by society across the generations, so we need to break the cycle. 

Can you share a specific example of an initiative or project that made a significant impact?         

In 2020, Leonardo first partnered with Springboard to design a programme to empower women across the business. This has led to a successful annual conference, which invites women working at our sites across the globe to build confidence, assertiveness and a positive self-image at work and at home. 

I was delighted to be able to join the programme last year, alongside women from our sites in Italy, the USA, Switzerland, France, Poland, China and Saudi Arabia, as we invested in our professional and personal development. The programme shows that breaking down barriers to women in our industry is a truly global task, and it was inspiring to see so many of my colleagues working together and proving that we have the power to lead our business.