{"id":126149,"date":"2025-03-27T08:00:37","date_gmt":"2025-03-27T12:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trainingindustry.com\/?post_type=articles&#038;p=126149"},"modified":"2026-06-03T14:03:44","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T18:03:44","slug":"the-business-of-learning-episode-85-women-at-work-how-ld-can-drive-career-growth","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/trainingindustry.com\/articles\/diversity-equity-and-inclusion\/the-business-of-learning-episode-85-women-at-work-how-ld-can-drive-career-growth\/","title":{"rendered":"The Business of Learning, Episode 85: Women at Work \u2014 How L&#038;D Can Drive Career Growth"},"author":52,"featured_media":0,"template":"","tags":[2707,4046,35046],"class_list":["post-126149","articles","type-articles","status-publish","hentry","tag-women-in-leadership","tag-women-in-the-workplace","tag-womens-career-development","global_topic_tax-diversity-equity-and-inclusion","global_topic_tax-leadership"],"acf":{"sponsored":false,"gated":false,"gated_content_type":"","file_attachment":null,"gated_content":"","form_instruction_header":"To access the full article, please fill out the form below:","pardot_html_embed":"","author_override":true,"author_name":"Training Industry, Inc.  ","author_image":"","author_bio":"","excerpt":"In this episode of The Business of Learning, Neha Trivedi from Alight Solutions shares how L&D can support women's career growth and overcome workplace barriers.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n","main_content":"<iframe style=\"width: 100%; height: auto; aspect-ratio: 16\/9;\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/nRubBpHht2U?si=yNuxZD0jZhed4xWN\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe>\r\n<iframe style=\"border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px); height: 150px;\" title=\"The Business of Learning, Episode 85: Women at Work \u2014 How L&amp;D Can Drive Career Growth\" src=\"https:\/\/www.podbean.com\/player-v2\/?i=sicqc-1861faa-pb&amp;from=pb6admin&amp;share=1&amp;download=1&amp;rtl=0&amp;fonts=Arial&amp;skin=1&amp;font-color=auto&amp;logo_link=episode_page&amp;btn-skin=7\" width=\"100%\" height=\"150\" scrolling=\"no\" data-name=\"pb-iframe-player\"><\/iframe>\r\nDespite strides toward gender equity, women in the workplace continue to encounter systemic challenges that hinder their career progression. While representation in executive roles has improved over the past decade \u2014 rising from 17% to 29% of C-suite positions, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mckinsey.com\/featured-insights\/diversity-and-inclusion\/women-in-the-workplace\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">McKinsey<\/a> \u2014 women, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds, remain significantly outnumbered.\r\n\r\nIn this episode of The Business of Learning, we spoke with Neha Trivedi, CPTM, HR director, learning and development and talent development at Alight Solutions, to learn more about how L&amp;D can help support women\u2019s career growth.\r\n\r\nTune in now to hear the conversation, where we discuss:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Real-world examples of programs that have had an impact on women\u2019s career growth.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>The importance of coaching, mentoring and sponsorship opportunities.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Partnering with HR and other business units to create comprehensive development strategies, ensure equitable access to leadership opportunities and embed inclusive practices across the organization.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nMore Resources:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/trainingindustry.com\/articles\/diversity-equity-and-inclusion\/supporting-womens-career-mobility-and-advancement\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">[Article] Supporting Women\u2019s Career Mobility and Advancement<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/trainingindustry.com\/articles\/leadership\/the-business-of-learning-episode-62-womens-leadership-development-common-challenges-and-actionable-solutions-cptm\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">[Podcast] Women\u2019s Leadership Development \u2014 Common Challenges and Actionable Solutions<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/trainingindustry.com\/articles\/leadership\/preparing-women-for-their-first-management-job-leadership-development-that-helps-mend-the-broken-rung\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">[Article] Preparing Women for Their First Management Job: Leadership Development That Helps Mend the \u201cBroken Rung\u201d<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n[hubspot type=\"form\" portal=\"47185625\" id=\"d126a78e-c2e1-4b29-a873-eaf804943803\" version=\"v4\"]<script> $(document).ready(function() {iFrameResize({},'[data-form-id=\"d126a78e-c2e1-4b29-a873-eaf804943803\"] iframe') }); <\/script>\r\n\r\n<em>The transcript for this episode follows:<\/em>\r\n\r\n<em>[Ad]\u00a0<\/em>\r\n\r\n<i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The Certified Professional in Training Management credential, or CPTM, is designed to convey the essential competencies you need to manage a training organization. When you become a CPTM, you gain access to alumni resources like monthly peer roundtables, and a full registration to the Training Industry Conference &amp; Expo. If you start today, you could earn the CPTM credential in as little as two months. To learn more, visit\u202f<\/span><\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.trainingindustry.com\/cptm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i><span data-contrast=\"none\">www.trainingindustry.com\/cptm<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.\u202f\u202f\u202f<\/span><\/i><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u200a<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:278}\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">Michelle Eggleston Schwartz: Hi, welcome back to The Business of Learning. I'm Michelle Eggleston Schwartz, editor in chief here at Training Industry.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:278}\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">Sarah Gallo: And I am Sarah Gallo, senior editor.\u00a0 Despite progress, many women still face unique challenges in their careers, from barriers to advancement and unequal access to leadership opportunities.\u00a0 In fact, recent McKinsey research shows that while women's representation in corporate leadership has increased over the past decade, progress has been modest, especially at the entry and manager levels. Although women now hold 29% of C-suite positions, which is up from 17% in 2015,\u00a0 men continue to outnumber women at every stage of the corporate pipeline regardless of race or ethnicity. So today we're speaking with Neha Trivedi, a Certified Professional in Training Management and HR director, learning and development and talent development at Alight Solutions to learn more about how learning and development coupled with more holistic support and policies can be part of the solution. Neha, thanks for speaking with us today.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:278}\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">Neha Trivedi: Thank you Sarah. Thank you, Michelle. And thank you to Training Industry for this opportunity. It's great to be here and.\u00a0 I'm excited to be part of this conversation, because as you said that McKinsey report was telling there are improvements, but we know that there is a long way to go. So I'm glad we're having this call and, and I will say this is an interest area of mine. My background is in cultural anthropology at as well, and I really. Enjoy looking at workplace dynamics and culture. So something that I follow and, uh, when you all reached out, I thought what a great opportunity, so thank you.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:278}\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">Michelle Eggleston Schwartz: I'm, I'm also excited for this conversation today. There's a lot to unpack. To kick things off, I think it would be helpful if you could walk through maybe some of the barriers and obstacles that women's women face in the workplace. How have these changed or maybe shifted over the years?\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:278}\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0Neha Trivedi: Great. Absolutely. I will start before I jump into barriers by talking about some of the factors that\u00a0 I feel influence how women are treated in the workplace. And to me those include company culture, right? How has the culture run? What kind of industry are we in? Is it traditionally thought of as more of a male dominated industry? That can have a lot of impact. Also, the overall values and practices of the organization regarding diversity and inclusion can have an effect, as well as HR policies, right? So what kinds of policies do we have around equal pay parental leave? Also anti-discrimination types of measures. And then the other one is industry norms. So what are some of those attitudes in the specific industry, as I mentioned, but also then overall, right? So there are geopolitical situations and other things that can\u00a0 impact culture, company culture.\u00a0 So when we think about those and think about some of those negative aspects or the barriers, um, white one hears about the glass ceilings, right? So this is that invisible barrier that might be preventing women from reaching senior leadership roles. There might be certain requirements and maybe they're not spoken, but again, it's part of the culture.\u00a0 Additionally, I think of, um, gender stereotypes. And sometimes there's an assumption that women are less capable or even suited for certain roles based on gender. The other piece is\u00a0 microaggressions, and we can see these sometimes day to day. They're very subtle, unintentional comments, I would say, and, or behaviors that can undermine women at the workplace. And there are things that as women we might hear, we might pick up on. Sometimes we don't. They're just part of the way \u2026 in some of the behaviors as people interact. And so sometimes we don't even notice them and they're just part of that, that regular day to day. The the other one is around barriers for women to progress, especially if they are taking care of a family, maybe they've become a mom or whatever it is. They have certain obligations. And so there are perceptions maybe that well, okay, because you have children or have certain caretaking <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u200a<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> responsibilities that you're not going to be qualified to take on a particular role. Right? And, and frequently those women may not even be asked that question. It's an assumption.\u00a0 And then the other piece, which is more of the, depending on\u00a0 the environment, and hopefully this is not happening, I think, if there's more attention, but it's around the unwelcome advances from different people, whether it's sexual advances creating that hostile kind of work environment. And it would be interesting to see, honestly, and I don't know if you all have any research on that, but how have things, how have dynamics changed because we are more remote in a lot of different industries. So it's just an interesting point. But yeah, some of those.\u00a0 Are the barriers that I actually think about when I think about barriers.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:278}\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">Sarah Gallo: Yeah, for sure. Thanks for walking us through some of those different factors and kind of barriers. I'm hoping you can also maybe share a little more on how L&amp;D along with, of course, broader initiatives and policies and things like that can really help some address some of these challenges.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:278}\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">Neha Trivedi: The one thing that I really appreciate about learning and development is it\u2019s ever present, right? Whether it's in a function or it\u2019s part of the global shared services team. L&amp;D can have a lot of impact with these types of barriers. Maybe some more than others, but definitely when we think about the learning and development team and what it can do, the first thing that comes in my mind is alignment, alignment with shared services. What is the HR team doing? What are other teams doing? What's happening at the organization, um, that is impacting organizational policy? What are some of the problems that we're seeing?\u00a0 Are our shared services seeing issues around the talent pipeline, succession pipeline? What kinds of policies are there? So are our leaders thinking about talent succession and thinking about women leaders? How does that look? And so based on broader initiatives and policies, I think L&amp;D can make an impact. And they can address those challenges as well as opportunities. So I don't want to say challenges only, I want to say opportunities as well. If there is a broader company initiative, is there <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u200a<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">some educational component that L&amp;D can offer? Like, \u201cHey, I have an idea. We have this policy\u2026.\u201d And as we all know, policies sometimes aren't the most fun to read, but maybe the L&amp;D team with an instructional design, ideas, creative, innovation [lens] can say, \u201cListen, let's make this more impactful.\u201d Let's create a\u2026 it doesn't have to be a whole online learning. It can be two pages or whatever it is, right? Or it could be a voiceover just <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u200a<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> explaining the significance of something that might impact this particular population. Also, L&amp;D is like I said, embedded usually within the culture of the organization. So I feel like learning leaders definitely have an opportunity to promote listening platforms. So it could be learning circles, it could be just supporting even like the DEI team on maybe initiatives that they have to say,\u00a0 what are we teaching others? What levels, how is this messaging coming out?\u00a0 The other thing I think when I think about this is programs. So are there any programs that the L&amp;D team can latch onto or supplement in some shape or form again with learning? So, and we can go into some details about that if you'd like, but, those are probably the biggest things I will say. The other way that L&amp;D can [have an] impact is [to] keep your ear to the ground, not only internally, but externally as a learning leader, are we joining external conferences, industry events? Are we learning about best practices from other learning leaders? Are we finding out, are we asking <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u200a<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">questions? Are we being curious to say, you know, we're dealing with A, B and C here, or we notice that again, our talent pipeline isn't as robust as we want it to be with women leaders, what are you all doing? And then bring those messages back to your company. I think that's really important. We end up focusing on the day-to-day so much and get so embedded. Sometimes we forget to look externally.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:278}\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">Michelle Eggleston Schwartz: Definitely\u00a0 I'd love to hear based on your own experience, um, could you share maybe some examples of successful programs or initiatives that you've seen\u00a0 make a real difference for women in the workplace?\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:278}\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">Neha Trivedi: Yeah, absolutely. So I've been involved in different industries over, gosh, the past 25 plus years. I know I'm dating myself, but.\u00a0 And I've really had the chance to see the way some of the initiatives work out. And so one program, or I guess an offering that I've seen work out well are business resource groups. So when a company has some sort of a platform where colleagues can interact for specific themes. <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u200a<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">So for example, a women's professional network that is a great driver to help. And promote women because again, you can have those conversations together. Now, business resource groups aren't typically limited, so we're not limiting this only to women or certain levels or whatever it is. You could, if there is an opportunity to do something like that, and if the business supports it or the organization supports it, that's fine, but business resource groups are fantastic because they can bring groups of people together, and they can provide instructions, they can provide training, and as a learning leader, learning leaders can and should plug in to their various business resource groups. And I know what we're thinking: Well, we don't have time to do that. But if we are on an email with all of the business resource groups, right? They've organized in some shape or form, get on that email so that we can then troubleshoot with them and say, how can L&amp;D [provide] support, or, here is how I might be able to support\u2026. I have seen women's professional networks be successful at several different organizations, and it's just a matter of starting small and then building up. So it doesn't have to be a big, massive rollout or implementation. But just start small. The other ones that I've seen that are quite successful are leadership programs that are focused on women. So again, I know we want to talk about being inclusive and all of that, but specifically when we are talking about women and leadership opportunities or even exposing them to the different things that they might not be exposed to on a regular level. These types of leadership programs are fantastic. In fact, I will just share that I'm in one right now where I currently work at, and it is for women leaders, and it's focused on a specific level. And, you know, these types of programs can be run internally, so they can be created with the help of the L&amp;D team and maybe women leaders at the organization. And also, you know, I keep saying women and women leaders, [but] there are advocates, right? You should and can pull in male leaders who are very supportive. I think that it's important for everyone to hear those voices and hear a variety of voices. So leadership programs and then I \u2026 another program or initiative, it's not really a program, but I am going to say even policies. So for example, there has been some momentum, and this has been largely in Europe, but a lot of American companies have taken this on as well.\u00a0 And that is the discussion around as women get older, having open and honest discussions around menopause. And informing leaders and managers on how to have conversations or how to be comfortable when a woman comes to them that might be on their team to say, listen,\u00a0 I'm going through perimenopause, or whatever it is, right? And I'm going to need a little bit of your understanding as I work through this. Right? So having those educated conversations, the L&amp;D team can help to support those. To provide some of that training. Again, that's a specific topic, so depending on the topics that we're dealing with, either they become more broad-based and rolled out to everyone maybe as an option. Or if the company culture permits and says, no, everyone needs to know about this. Roll it out that way. Or be very specific and at least have it available. So if people need it, then they can use it.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:278}\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">Sarah Gallo: Yeah, I love that. I love what you mentioned around bringing in those male advocates. That's really key for getting that buy-in and support. And also just remembering to start small, you know, with a lot of these big change initiatives, it can be really challenging just getting started. So remembering that it's okay to start small and, and keeping that in mind.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:278}\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">Neha Trivedi: I totally agree. And also, there are continuous budget pressures, right? And I know as an L&amp;D leader. We have budget pressures all the time, and so we are, we are constantly trying to be innovative to say, what can we do, right? It may not be this massive thing like you said, but let's start small and let's see where it goes.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:278}\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<em>[Ad]\u00a0<\/em>\r\n\r\n<i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">As a training professional, your job is to effectively manage the business of learning. You probably tune in to this podcast to gain insights on L&amp;D trends being used by some of the most innovative thought leaders in our market. But did you know that Training Industry also provides data-driven analysis and best practices through our premium research reports? Our entire catalog, including repots on deconstructing 70-20-10, learner preferences, the modern learner experience and AI\u2019s impact on L&amp;D, just to name a few, can be found at <\/span><\/i><em><a href=\"http:\/\/TrainingIndustry.com\/shopresearch\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">TrainingIndustry.com\/shopresearch<\/a><\/em><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\"><em>.<\/em> New insights create new ways for L&amp;D to do business. Let Training Industry research reports take your training initiatives to new heights. Go to <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/trainingindustry.com\/shopresearch\"><i><span data-contrast=\"none\">TrainingIndustry.com\/shopresearch<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> to view the entire catalog.<\/span><\/i><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:278}\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">Sarah Gallo: I want to take a moment to talk really about mentoring and coaching, because we often see those are ways that organizations do invest in employees career development.\u00a0 Neha, can you share more about the role that coaching and mentoring really play in supporting women's career development and how can businesses make those opportunities are accessible?<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:278}\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">Neha Trivedi:\u00a0 Well, gosh, I think they're both really important, right? And well, depending on where one is working, whatever organization or industry,\u00a0 I think the first thing is to understand what the definitions are. You know, what do we mean by mentoring? What do we mean by coaching? And so as long as that's\u00a0 understood by the person. In some cases, some companies use mentoring and coaching in one, right? So\u00a0 they could be completely separate programs or they could be together. The point here is having that support for women so that as they go through their careers, they have someone or even a group of people that they can lean on. So when we think about coaching or even mentoring, it can be a one-on-one relationship. It can be a group type of a mentoring circle, if you will. So that social collaborative learning that we talk about all the time. They play, they definitely play a role because they're going to help any woman who is trying to navigate her career have a sounding board, right? So we always encourage everyone to have trusted advisors, whether it's internal or it's external. But if you're in a mentoring program or you have an identified coach, someone that is willing to talk to you on a regular basis, then you have more of that personal connection that you're building, right? And, and that person gets to <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u200a<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> understand and learn more about your goals, but also guide and they can hopefully be an advocate for that. To say, \u201cHey, you know what? I'm going to be looking out for opportunities as well.\u201d And so you want to have that. Now again, the <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u200a<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">other word that you'll hear in here, so you hear coaches, mentors and then sponsors. Sponsors typically\u2026based on the, I'm just going to say the definition that I have, sponsors are usually those people that will connect you to other opportunities, whether it's in an organization or outside of an organization. And the mentor and the coach, while they can do that, a mentor is probably going to guide you more in around career planning and thinking through your next steps. A coach can do the same thing, but a coach may be taking it to a different level. They can serve as an advocate as well. So do they have a role? Absolutely. I think that, at least for me personally, I have had a coach for quite a while, oh gosh, I want to say since 2015. And that person is outside of any organizations that I've worked for. And for me it was important to have that as a separate thing because then that person is neutral. They're not about the company or about this or that; they don't\u00a0 have any sort of an agenda. However, I will say I have had coaches within the organizations as well that I'm working at, because again, they do have that internal knowledge and they do have those connections. So I think for connections, for information, for guidance information internally, it's great to have a mentor or coach. And then externally, depending on where your career is going or how you are planning it, and how do we make these opportunities more accessible? I think that this is about awareness and it's about encouraging people to understand that having a mentor or coach will help them as an L&amp;D leader.\u00a0 One can work on trying to embed those messages in maybe onboarding [and] in other types of initiatives where we're talking about career growth and <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u200a<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> opportunities, so providing those types of content, the type of content and information is important. The other thing is mentoring and coaching tend not to work if the outer organization or the whole organization is not encouraging time for learning and growth. As much as I hate to say it, there has to be a little bit of that foundation and culture to do it. Will it happen if we don't have that? It can, right? You may not see these large-level programs or initiatives where the company will say, you know what? We'll sponsor a mentoring program. Let's create one and let's get mentors and mentees. It might be more informal. But again, it depends on the industry. It depends on the culture. So I just, I want to be mindful of that and, and so we're not thinking, well, we'll just establish this. A lot of things have to come into place.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:278}\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">Michelle Eggleston Schwartz: Definitely having that culture,\u00a0 that supports and prioritizes learning, um, is so important. And I think it's worth noting that to truly support women at work, it really takes that support from across the business to be successful. Could you share some ways L&amp;D teams can partner with business leaders and HR to better support women in the workplace?\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:278}\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">Neha Trivedi: Yeah, absolutely. And the first thing is what I alluded to earlier is keep your ear to the ground, right? Be in the know. Make sure as a learning leader or a learning team, the team is very aware of what's happening. Check out the com company's internet where possible. Partner with leaders to say, \u201cHey, you know, we have these learning offerings,\u201d or \u201cThis is what we do to support the company. How can we connect with your groups?\u201d So one thing that I've worked on and also seen successfully done at a number of organizations, and I do it at the current organization I'm at, is joining town halls. So different business functions might have town halls that they do periodically or leadership calls, right? They might, these might be meetings with just 20, 30 people, whatever it is, but they are key people that can help take messaging to others, right? They have large spans. And <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u200a<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> so if we're able to create some of those partnerships to say, \u201cHey, you know, we are here. We're happy to help, we're happy to support some of these initiatives.\u201d Maybe there's an ESG initiative going on. Maybe there's a DEI initiative going on. Maybe there's something going on with the employee lifecycle, like performance reviews are coming up. Well, wow. <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u200a<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> Performance reviews or conversations with the manager, the check-ins. What a great time to talk about even unconscious bias or being more inclusive, right? And bringing some of that learning or training in as a component of whatever is being shared. So that is definitely one thing. Be visible, keep your ear to the ground. The other thing is,\u00a0 I would say aligning again. If you, if we want to align with the business functions or with specific leaders across the business, lean on HR business partners. HR business partners are working with different business functions. My team finds a lot of opportunities through our business partners, the HR business partners to say, \u201cHey, are there any new initiatives coming up? What are we talking about here? How do those align? And we keep our ears open for specifically whether it is something where we can empower women in some shape or form, inform others, but this can work for anything, right? So, it's something that learning leaders can absolutely use. And then, see we talked about the intranet, understanding what's happening, [the] employee lifecycle. I think it's important if we have those leaders ears, if we're seeing something happening at the organization or we're part of different conversations, maybe it's new hired training, or maybe it's some seasoned managers or whatever, and we hear specific conversations during activities or whatever we're leading. We need to speak up, right? Like, \u201cHey, there seems to be a problem here. There was some issue that happened and, and these managers were talking about succession. What are we doing to help women leaders? Or what are we doing to help promote? What is that messaging? So I, you know, part of this is also being innovative and coming up with different ideas and suggestions because sometimes there might not be an initiative that we can latch onto.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:278}\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">Sarah Gallo: Definitely. I love that you really dug into leadership here because we know that is so important, really for any initiative to be successful. I'm wondering if you have any tips on really developing leaders to be able to better support women on their teams and really champion their career growth.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:278}\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">Neha Trivedi: I think before we approach the leaders we have to embed awareness around whether it's unconscious bias, whether it's inequalities, what all of that stuff right from the beginning. So there, there need to be either programs or messaging across the board, and then if, if we can right, go to that manager level. Training and awareness, again is important. So if there is a, maybe a new people manager program, anyone who is new to leading a team, we can embed a certain, like a chapter or some work or a workshop around some of these topics. The thing I want to be careful of is, when we talk about developing leaders who can better support women,\u00a0 remember that, and this is something that I've found at most of the places I've worked with when, when most organizations talk about training leaders about awareness or whatever it is, they're talking about people managers, and there are so many individual contributors that can be at a director level or at a manager level or a supervisory [level], right? And they have dotted line accountabilities, but they are accountable and able to influence a lot of people. And so we don't want to forget them, individual contributors. So I think how can we reach out to those people? Absolutely, training is one way, but also partner maybe with the DEI organization, if you have one, because when they have any specific initiatives, there can be targeted\u00a0 training and messaging and, and it's good for learning leaders to align because we may not be the experts, right? So let's partner with our SMEs and make sure that what we are rolling out is ticked and tied. <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u200a<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The other thing is to better support <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u200a<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">women. Most companies have a reward structure where they're going to reward the manager for getting the job done, right? So you meet your deadlines, have results, all of that. So I feel like some companies are doing this more, but I don't think we're quite there yet. But how about also rewarding managers that promote inclusive environments?\u00a0 Right, and the question that comes up there, there's no easy answer here because you're probably thinking, well, how would you measure that Neha? And so\u00a0 that remains to be seen, I think one would have to be creative in how to do that. But I think it's important to understand what do we reward, because we can put out all the training in the world, [but] if we don't have the infrastructure to support that, how well is it going to work, right? And is the company a champion for the colleague experience, for talent mobility, for succession planning, for thinking through those talent pipelines? It helps if they are right in some shape or form so that the L&amp;D team can jump on that.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:278}\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">Michelle Eggleston Schwartz: Definitely. Could you touch on how organizations can align L&amp;D efforts with broader strategies around inclusion to create impactful change?\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:278}\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">Neha Trivedi:\u00a0 I think part of this is\u00a0 yes, uh, when, when we're putting together, whether it's a training effort or a messaging, or rolling out a program, it's important to think about sustainability, right? Like, how can we keep this going\u00a0 unless they intend it for it to be a one and done, in which case, when I'm consulting with my business stakeholders and partnering <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u200a<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">with them, I will say, \u201cWell, what's the use of this if you're just going\u2026 if it's a check in the box activity, right?\u201d So, one, how can we align broader efforts? Well absolutely. Think about sustainability. So, and then find that group, whether it is the HR team, whether it's the DEI team or whoever is maybe rolling out initiatives, especially to support inclusion <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u200a<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> because that is going to spill over and help create more women leaders, I believe. How do you keep it sustainable? Can you leverage the tools as a learning leader that you have to support some of this? What do I mean? If you have a learning management system or a learning experience platform, you can maybe think about hosting some of that training or <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u200a<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> whatever is developed that can be tracked because again, we want to be able to see how things are being consumed, who is consuming them? Put it in the LMS. If it makes sense, if it aligns well, because then again, you can be, uh, focusing on that sustainability piece. My team has partnered in different organizations, even now, we partner very closely with our DEI team, and when they have something that they have created or they need partnership with creating something, we will, if it makes sense, put it in the learning management system. That way the training becomes searchable; it becomes more widely available. So if there is a targeted audience, if it's appropriate, fantastic. Make it searchable, make it widely searchable, or put it in a playlist if you have that functionality. So I think that's key. The other thing is to align efforts with these different initiatives or DEI and create some of that change as an L and D team, if you do have your learning management system and you're able to get content that you're purchasing from an external vendor, let's say, right, because I don't know. I'm not sure anymore of any organization that completes or creates all of their training internally. It's just who has that capacity, right? So if we have catalogs and things, when you are refreshing them or when you're thinking about a new partnership, what kinds of content do they have? Do we have more inclusive stuff? Is there anything that will support, uh, women leaders? I will say in the catalogs that we have right now, we have women-focused modules, they're for women leaders, and we can market them that way. And as I mentioned, if you have an internal program or maybe a business resource group that is specific and they're looking for some of this content, we can raise our hand and say we have it, so what would you like to use? Or, let's market it. Let us help you figure out how to best market it. And so I\u2026 to align and to create that lasting change, let's leverage the resources we have. I think L&amp;D can be a very powerful resource.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:278}\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">Sarah Gallo: Definitely great tips there. Well, I know we've covered a lot of ground today and I'm sure we could keep talking for another hour, Neha. But before we do wrap up, are there any final takeaways you'd like to leave our listeners with?\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:278}\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">Neha Trivedi: Well, gosh, I\u2026This has been such a great conversation, but I do want to say,\u00a0 because when we talk about things like this, they can seem overwhelming and we mentioned that, right? Start small. But I will, I'm going to share a quote from Margaret Mead. And you know I\u2019m partial to anthropology in many ways, but she's pretty well known for this quote. \u201cNever doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. And so look, I think any L&amp;D team, no matter how small or large you are, if you have to start small, that's okay. Things take time. They take time to build. It takes time to get the messages out, but once\u00a0 people know that you're out there, once you have those partnerships, once you create those, [get] the seat at the table, you can start this process and create definitely more suitable and supportive environments for women so that they can grow.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:278}\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">Michelle Eggleston Schwartz: I love that. It's a great way to close out the conversation today. Um, so Neha, thank you so much for speaking with us today. This has been such a great conversation. How can our listeners get in touch with you if they like to reach out?\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:278}\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">Neha Trivedi: Yeah, great question. If anyone wants to reach out to me, please feel free to contact me through LinkedIn.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:278}\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">Sarah Gallo:\u00a0 For more resources on this topic, check out the episode description or visit the shownotes on our website at <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/trainingindustry.com\/Podcast\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">TrainingIndustry.com\/Podcast<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">. Lastly, don't forget to rate and review us wherever you tune in to the business of learning. Until next time.\u00a0<\/span>","full_width":false,"content_band":null,"tice_sponsors":"","custom_dfp_keywords":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.8 (Yoast SEO v27.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Business of Learning, Ep. 85: L&amp;D Driving Women&#039;s Growth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn how L&amp;D can support women\u2019s career growth and advancement in this episode of the Training Industry podcast.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/trainingindustry.com\/articles\/diversity-equity-and-inclusion\/the-business-of-learning-episode-85-women-at-work-how-ld-can-drive-career-growth\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Business of Learning, Episode 85: Women at Work \u2014 How L&amp;D Can Drive Career Growth\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn how L&amp;D can support women\u2019s career growth and advancement in this episode of the Training Industry podcast.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/trainingindustry.com\/articles\/diversity-equity-and-inclusion\/the-business-of-learning-episode-85-women-at-work-how-ld-can-drive-career-growth\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Training Industry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TrainingIndustry\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-03T18:03:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/trainingindustry.com\/content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/ti-logo-stacked.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@TrainingIndustr\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"25 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trainingindustry.com\\\/articles\\\/diversity-equity-and-inclusion\\\/the-business-of-learning-episode-85-women-at-work-how-ld-can-drive-career-growth\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trainingindustry.com\\\/articles\\\/diversity-equity-and-inclusion\\\/the-business-of-learning-episode-85-women-at-work-how-ld-can-drive-career-growth\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Business of Learning, Ep. 85: L&D Driving Women's Growth\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trainingindustry.com\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-27T12:00:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-03T18:03:44+00:00\",\"description\":\"Learn how L&D can support women\u2019s career growth and advancement in this episode of the Training Industry podcast.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trainingindustry.com\\\/articles\\\/diversity-equity-and-inclusion\\\/the-business-of-learning-episode-85-women-at-work-how-ld-can-drive-career-growth\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/trainingindustry.com\\\/articles\\\/diversity-equity-and-inclusion\\\/the-business-of-learning-episode-85-women-at-work-how-ld-can-drive-career-growth\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trainingindustry.com\\\/articles\\\/diversity-equity-and-inclusion\\\/the-business-of-learning-episode-85-women-at-work-how-ld-can-drive-career-growth\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trainingindustry.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Articles\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trainingindustry.com\\\/articles\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"The Business of Learning, Episode 85: Women at Work \u2014 How L&#038;D Can Drive Career Growth\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trainingindustry.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trainingindustry.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Training Industry\",\"description\":\"Articles, research and tools for the L&amp;D professional. 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