Politically correct?

Political savvy – do women in IT have it?  Over three quarters (77%) of attendees at a recent womenintechnology.co.uk networking event, co-hosted with Société Générale, felt that they did not have sufficient skills to manage in a political context. And just over half (53%) felt that they had been the victim of labelling, stereotyping or sabotage. When asked what skills they would like to develop, comments ranged from  “the ability to be less emotional and more calm when politically ‘attacked’”  and “how to manage people’s perceptions of me and gain power” through to “handling office politics – and understanding them!”  The event’s key note speaker was Michelle Brailsford of the Jupiter Consulting Group who presented "Political Savvy for Women in IT". Her interactive session was extremely well received and she gave an overview of political savvy and shared some practical tips to consider when in the workplace.   A copy of her presentation can be found at http://www.womenintechnology.co.uk/politicalsavvy/ and details of future free career networking events can be found at www.womenintechnology.co.uk.