“We can’t keep saying that women are the overlooked majority. We have to change that.”
Angela Boxall, Chair of Care England and Chief Executive of Majesticare, delivered that challenge at the Women Achieving Greatness in Social Care (WAGS) Leadership Experience & Afternoon Tea in London on 27 October. It captured the spirit of a day that was honest about the barriers women face, but even more determined to do something about them.
Held at Hilton London Bankside and organised by WAGS in partnership with Care England, the event brought together established and emerging leaders for conversations about opportunity, pay, adversity, confidence and the people who open doors. Broadcaster Sameena Ali-Khan guided discussions that were frequently funny, sometimes deeply emotional and, above all, practical. The starting point was Care England’s The Overlooked Majority report. Published in June, it found that women make up 78% of the adult social care workforce but hold only 41% of board-level positions. Drawing on interviews and survey responses, it explored the barriers that are too easily treated as part of working life: caring responsibilities, assumptions about commitment and flexibility, unequal access to influential networks and limited opportunities for progression. The day was about taking those findings off the page and asking what happens next.
Dr Jane Townson OBE, Chief Executive of the Homecare Association, offered an important reminder:
“Leadership isn’t tied to a role.” Care workers make difficult decisions, recognise problems, support families and take responsibility every day, often without any formal leadership title. Those skills deserve to be recognised as a foundation for progression, not simply taken for granted.
Dr Olivia Curno, Chief Executive of Elizabeth Finn Homes and a member of Care England’s Policy Board, challenged employers to “put gender on the agenda at board” by examining their own figures, setting expectations and making progress visible. She also described the importance of family-friendly employment policies. Explaining the thinking behind enhanced parental leave at Elizabeth Finn Homes, she said:
“We want you to have a career with us, not do a job for us.” It was a simple illustration of how an organisation can change the choices available to its people.
The question of who spots talent, and who gives it a chance, ran throughout the day. Nadra Ahmed CBE, Executive Co-Chair of the National Care Association, stressed that leadership is not confined to senior job titles: “everybody who’s running a shift is a leader.” She also called for a clearer national workforce strategy and progression framework. Rachel Hill made an equally important point: leaders should be willing to develop talented colleagues and encourage them to take opportunities elsewhere when there is no suitable role in their own organisation. Supporting someone’s career should not end at the organisational boundary.
Pam Banwait, Managing Director of StrongLife, showed what changing practice can look like. She described challenging conventional nine-to-five expectations for care home management roles and making flexibility meaningful for colleagues with children and other commitments. Around three-quarters of her organisation’s senior leadership team are now women. Her message was not simply to advertise opportunities, but to ask whether they are genuinely equal opportunities for the people who might want them.
There was also a moving reminder of what leadership demands when things go badly wrong. Raina Summerson, Chief Executive of Agincare, spoke with great openness about guiding colleagues through a major incident, the pressure on staff and families, and the importance of trusted relationships and support. Her focus at the time was to ask, “what can I control in this situation?” The lessons about preparation, clear records, honest communication and looking after people resonated far beyond the incident itself. Good leadership is not only about success; it is about how people are supported through the hardest days.
The policy discussion showed why progress has to be tackled on several fronts. Rose Thomas-Willis of the Department of Health and Social Care explained the potential of the adult social care Fair Pay Agreement to improve minimum pay and terms in a workforce made up predominantly of women. But she was equally clear that the agreement would not, on its own, create career progression. The Care Workforce Pathway and future decisions of the negotiating body could help connect skills, roles and pay more clearly over time. The distinction is important: better reward, clearer routes forward and fairer employment practices need to work together.
Katie Thorn of the Digital Care Hub raised another opportunity that should not be missed. As care becomes more digital, those who provide and receive care need a genuine voice in designing the systems they use. Too often, technology starts with a checklist rather than the realities of personalised care. New roles, including the care technologist role identified within the Care Workforce Pathway, could also open doors for people whose skills and interests do not fit traditional career ladders.
Christine McGuinness television personality, author and autism advocate, brought a different but complementary perspective. Speaking openly about her experience of autism, ADHD, motherhood and caring responsibilities, she described what it means to be overlooked, misunderstood or uncertain that you belong in a room. Her determination to keep speaking up, despite those feelings, prompted an exceptionally personal response from the audience. It was a reminder that inclusive leadership is also about making it possible for people to be themselves, ask for support and have their contribution recognised.
The afternoon tea and speed mentoring session put some of the discussion into practice. People who might otherwise never have met were able to share experiences, offer advice and make introductions. It was an important part of the day: a chance to create the networks and informal support that the report identified as so influential in career progression.
The final conversation, between Angela Boxall and Pam Banwait, took that idea further. Angela introduced Leaders of Tomorrow, an emerging sector-led mentoring initiative that has already involved senior care leaders offering their time at the Care Show and aims to encourage mentoring within and between providers. Pam spoke about mentoring as a way of helping others make their own decisions rather than becoming copies of their mentors. As she put it, “you’re not there to create another version of yourself.”
WAGS also announced a new Women’s Leadership Circle, intended to bring people together quarterly to develop ideas and turn discussion into action. Delegates were invited to register their interest. Alongside Leaders of Tomorrow, it offered a welcome sign that the conversations would not end when everyone left the room.
The challenge now is for every organisation to do something with what it heard. Look at who progresses and who does not. Review whether flexibility works in practice, not only on paper. Ask frontline colleagues to help shape digital systems and service improvements. Make recruitment and promotion more transparent. Create a workplace where people feel safe, valued and able to lead. Above all, identify someone with potential and help open a door for them.
Angela offered a wonderfully straightforward challenge:
“If everybody mentored one person after today, what a difference that would make to our sector tomorrow.”
And Pam left the room with a similarly generous message: tell women that no job is too big, and neither is any ambition.
Care England is proud to have partnered with WAGS on a day that celebrated the women already shaping adult social care and asked how many more could do so with the right opportunity. The Overlooked Majority set out the problem. The conversations in London showed the determination to act. The next move belongs to all of us: who will we champion tomorrow?
Read The Overlooked Majority and find out more about Women Achieving Greatness in Social Care.
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