In September 2010 Capability Jane launched a pioneering research programme to investigate the use of job sharing in senior client facing, leadership roles within global corporations and identify best practice. Sponsored by Deloitte, RBS, KPMG, Centrica, DHL, Freshfields & Herbert Smith the research focused on understanding how job sharing works in these roles and obtaining sufficient insights to develop practical toolkits for implementation.

At Capability Jane we have seen a growing appetite for job sharing amongst women in key commercial roles in business. We have witnessed first-hand how job sharing can be a commercially viable way of helping women return to, remain and progress in their careers.

However, in the mainstream world of work, we often hear an immediate scepticism among managers who dismiss the concept as simply “not viable here,” or believe “it’s impossible to make it work.” The challenge is in a great part to do with understanding and perception. Most organisations only have pockets of one or two job shares, making it difficult to promote a critical mass of successful role models and enable the practice to gain traction. Catch 22.

The research project set out to address this. We have uncovered many examples of successful job sharers in senior roles which we will promote through this project to raise awareness and break down the perception barriers. We have translated the empirical evidence into tools to help individuals and organisations increase the take up of job sharing in global corporations and in turn increase the retention and progression of senior women.

To see more information on go to www.thejobshareproject.com

To find out more about how we can help you go to www.capabilityjane.com/jobshareservices.php