Global initiatives: Europe: Women's Survival course

Helping women to develop leadership skills

A group of 20 western European PwC firms is helping its women gain an appetite for leadership and develop the necessary skills through the Women's Survival course.

Launched in September 2007, this one and a half day course focuses on the leadership skills women need to succeed in a largely male-dominated industry. Topics range from conflict management and influencing skills to understanding stereotypes and relationship building.

Agnès Hussherr, Gender Advisory Council member and Partner in charge of Women in PwC initiatives in PwC France explains: "The course revolves around 15 golden rules which we believe will help women succeed in business: for example, overcoming the 'Impostor Syndrome,' having a fallback plan and negotiating the rules of your involvement in a project. The aim is to get participants to assess themselves on each of the rules and to think about ways in which they can develop the skills that will help them on the path to leadership".