Assembly Chief Executive to debate leadership issues facing women
23 September 2010
The Chief Executive and Clerk of the National Assembly for Wales will today (23 September) join a panel of women at a conference in London where she will discuss the issues facing women leaders.
Claire Clancy, the only female Chief Executive of the UK legislatures, will take part in the Women into Leadership
conference to address the challenges women face in progressing to senior roles in the public and private sectors.
She will sit alongside Baroness Jo Valentine, CEO, London First and Vicky Pryce, former Head of Government Economic Service and Senior Managing Director, FTI Consulting.
Claire Clancy said: “When I was appointed to the National Assembly in 2007, my main focus was to establish a strong team that could give professional, high quality support to Assembly Members.
“I knew then that the Assembly was a unique place to work. The dedication of the workforce was tangible, so the challenge was to ensure that the right people were doing the right jobs to take us through the Third Assembly.
“As we approach the Fourth Assembly we are preparing to meet new challenges but, like everyone else, we must do more with less money.
“Maintaining a strong service ethos and ensuring rigorous corporate governance, while demonstrating innovation and using every tool at our disposal in support of Assembly Members’ legislative, scrutiny and representational roles will ensure that we give Wales a strong and confident democratic voice.
“We have already blazed a trail on many fronts, including setting up an independent panel to look at Assembly Members’ pay and allowances long before the storm broke in Westminster. As a result, a new Remuneration Board has just been appointed to independently set Members’ pay and allowances and will start work this autumn.
“The Assembly is leading the way in other areas, too. This year we were a partner in a unique political mentoring project aimed at getting under-represented groups more involved in the democratic process. The project was later commended in the report of the Speaker’s Conference in the House of Commons as something that could be developed across the UK.
“In the same report, our in-house Equalities team was cited as exemplary in relation to the promotion of equality and diversity within the organisation. It is also notable that, in the ten years since devolution, the percentage of female Assembly Members in the National Assembly for Wales has never dropped lower than 40 per cent.
“Maintaining these unique qualities will be key to making sure the Assembly remains an accessible and effective parliamentary body that inspires the confidence of the people of Wales.
“My team continues to demonstrate its commitment to making sure this happens, and I’m pleased to be able to take such positive examples to London to share with other leaders at the conference.”