Springboard’s Sprint gathers momentum to close the gender pay gap

BARNSTAPLE, U.K. - Nov. 26, 2015 - PRLog -- A programme intended to end the gender pay gap by helping undergraduate women develop to their fullest potential, has now amassed over 2,000 ‘graduates’ since it began in May 2013.

Known as ‘Sprint’ and developed by the Springboard Consultancy (SBC), a UK-based international training company specialising in addressing women's development issues, the programme, the programme is intended for undergraduate women of all ages, from all backgrounds, ages and stages in their lives and study - regardless of subject, department or career aspirations.

According to SBC’s Celia Morrison-Smith, 2,075 undergraduate and 204 post-graduate women have now successfully completed the Sprint programme and, consequently, are now combatting the gender pay gap.

Sprint actively engages women undergraduates in their university studies and careers; aims to improve their employability, boost their self-confidence, self-esteem and personal effectiveness. So far, over 70 per cent of Sprint participants say they are now more assertive – and are better at setting realistic goals and action points, managing their time and working more productively.

The Sprint programme grew from research showing the large pay gap between men and women after graduating from Oxford University, even though they hold the same class degrees in the same subjects. For example, 50 per cent of social science male graduates earn £27,000 or more on leaving, while 70 per cent of females with exactly the same degrees, earn that amount or less.

A similar survey, by the Higher Education Careers Unit, measuring the earnings of 17,000 recent graduates, discovered that 70 per cent of women graduates were earning less than £24,000, compared with 55 per cent of men - even in subject areas where women’s participation was greater than men’s, such as law.

“The pace at which the Sprint programme is growing is both impressive and amazing,” said Liz Willis, SBC’s joint-CEO. “Moreover, Sprint appears to be gathering momentum as more people join the special Sprint trainers’ courses.”

The latest Sprint trainers’ course – taking place, in Devon, from 6^th to 11^th December - has attracted seven delegates, including Zibah Nwako, of Affirm Consulting, from Nigeria.

For the last four years, Zibah has been helping women to develop confidence as well as their education outside the formal education system in Nigeria through running SBC’s ‘Springboard’ development programme - which enables women to make a better world for themselves at work, home and in their communities. However, this will be Zibah’s first experience of running SBC programmes specifically for undergraduate women.

About Sprint

Sprint (http://www.springboardconsultancy.com/courses/sprint/) is a development programme for undergraduate women. Originally developed in collaboration with the University of Cambridge, and most recently with the University of Oxford, both universities have contributed greatly to the Sprint programme. Sprint is designed for undergraduate women of all ages, from all backgrounds, ages and stages in their lives and study. Regardless of subject, department or career aspirations, Sprint is designed to develop female students to their fullest potential. It has also been developed to help to put an end to the gender pay gap.

About The Springboard Consultancy (SBC)

The Springboard Consultancy (http://www.springboardconsultancy.com/) (SBC) is an international training company, with a proven track record in work and personal development training, particularly addressing women's development issues – especially via its award-winning 'Springboard Women's Development Programme'. Its core business is training and licensing trainers to deliver award-winning development courses – to people of allgenders and all ages - via an international network of professional licensed trainers in locations around the world. In this way, over 240,000 people have used its programmes and over 1,300 trainers have been trained in 44 countries around the world.

SBC has developed a reputation for creativity, innovation and quality, balanced with down-to-earth pragmatism and good value. It believes that everyone is ‘born to shine’ and that life circumstances and lack of skills and opportunities often prevent that happening, to the detriment of all. It uses training to enable everyone, especially women, to develop themselves further - benefitting the person, their employer, family and wider community.

For more information, please contact:

Georgina Pullen, SBC, +44 (0)1271 850828; georgina@springboardconsultancy.com

Bob Little, Bob Little Press & PR, +44 (0)1727 860405; bob.little@boblittlepr.com