European Commissioner for Justice, Viviane Reding’s fight to get more women in top jobs was dealt a significant blow this week when her proposal to introduce 40% quotas for women on boards across Europe was questioned over its legality.

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Having-it-all’. A phrase and aspiration once championed by working women everywhere has now morphed into a millstone around the necks of an entire generation

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The OpenIDEO Youth Unemployment Challenge has now been running for just shy of four months, and in that time we have seen over 22,000 visitors to the challenge from over 136 countries across the world collaborate in a bid to solve the following issue; how can we successfully equip young people with the skills, information and opportunities to succeed in the world of work?

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New research carried out by Ipsos MORI on behalf of the Women’s Sport and Fitness Federation (WSFF) has found that 63% of British adults believe London 2012 has been the best ever Olympics for showcasing women’s athletic achievements.

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Fewer than a third of the UK's most influential jobs are held by women, figures compiled by BBC News demonstrate today. Disappointing indeed but sadly, not a new story.

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Today (28 May) Barclays, Ideo and The Work Foundation, will launch an exciting new web-based initiative to come up with some ideas. The OpenIDEO challenge will run for three months and will see thousands collaborating globally to address the challenge of ‘How can we equip young people with the skills, information and opportunities to succeed in the world of work’.

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Last night (23 April) I attended a pre-election mayoral debate, What About Women? at the British Government @LSE, organised by the Fawcett Society, leading campaigners for equality.

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Yesterday we witnessed a very public clash between The Guardian’s Tanya Gold and the editor of British Vogue and overall fashion heavyweight, Alexandra Shulman. The Gold vs. Shulman case can be summarised as follows. In an interview with Observer Magazine, Ms Shulman commented that once a woman has a child she will become aware of the significant damage being done to her career trajectory as a result of the time spent away from the labour market. Shulman also remarked that she was all too aware of the differences in terms of pay between men and women doing the same job. Disappointing observations, but so far so true.

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A year ago today, Lord Davies published ‘Women on Boards’ calling for all FTSE company boards to increase their female representation to a minimum of 25% by 2015.

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A new report published today (12 March) by the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) claims women aren’t after examples of female role models who have ‘given it all’ to reach senior management positions. Instead, women would prefer to see mentors who have achieved a successful work/life balance – without the sacrifice repeatedly advertised as integral to success.

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Today (8 March) marks the 101th anniversary of International Women’s Day. Undoubtedly this special day, celebrated by women and men all around the world, gives us all the opportunity to collectively reflect on the progress, achievements and successes of women past and present. And there have been many.

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Yesterday (10 February), Prime Minister David Cameron was in Stockholm for the second day of the Northern Future Forum Summit. The summit, which brings together Nordic-Baltic and UK governments, aims to join up leaders with experts, entrepreneurs and academics to common social and economic issues. High on this year’s agenda is the question of how to get more women into top positions and encourage more female entrepreneurs.

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The campaign for increased recognition of the disproportionate effects austerity measures are having on female employment gained momentum on Friday with the publication of a new report by the Fawcett Society.

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Today, the Equality and Human Rights Commission published the findings of theirSex and Power 2011 report with overwhelmingly disappointing results for women whose aspirations extend beyond the ‘marzipan level’ of senior management. The report – which provides an index of women in positions of power and influence – found that more than 5,400 women are missing from the Britain’s 26,000 most powerful posts- a trend which currently shows no sign of subsiding.

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Today marks the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day. This year’s theme – the snappily titled Equal Access to Education, Training and Science and Technology: Pathway to decent work for women.

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