UK

It is worth saying again: Prejudice against women fulfilling their professional promise is one of the most pernicious discriminations still tolerated in the UK.

Pioneers may be picturesque figures, but they are often rather lonely ones. Or so said Nancy Astor, who certainly should have known: as the first female MP to take a seat in the House of Commons, Samantha Cameron's step great-grandmother surely expected to meet her share of resistance.

David Cameron has been accused of running the country like an old boys' network after he turned up to prime minister's questions with an entirely male frontbench.

An initiative to encourage more women to apply for key roles in Welsh public life has been launched at the Senedd.

It will offer mentoring, shadowing and training as part of Presiding Officer Dame Rosemary Butler's women in public life development scheme.

Only around 5% of council leaders and chief executives of companies in Wales are female.

We invite you to read the full article published January 30, 2014

Regardless of the role or industry in question, networking is often an essential part of the modern day-to-day job. We all build up an array of contacts during our professional lives and we learn from the people we meet and work with. As a professional political consultant, I can vouch for this being as true in Westminster as anywhere else; and I believe that building on these networks is the key to making Parliament a more female-friendly workplace.