Mayor's message
"London is one of the most diverse, progressive and inclusive cities in the world. Yet despite this, gender inequality is a real problem – particularly in the workplace. The gender pay gap in London is the largest in the country, and women remain underrepresented at senior levels in the public, private and third sectors.
"Although women enter the workforce in greater numbers than men, they make up only 28.7% of FTSE 100 board members. In fact, there are more people called David and Steve heading up FTSE 100 companies than there are women and ethnic minority CEOs put together.
"Talented women should not be held back by their gender. We need to be doing all we can to support women in the workplace.
"Not only is there a strong moral case for taking action, there is also a compelling business case too. All the evidence shows that companies with more women in leadership roles perform better and are more profitable.
"In short, we need more women leading London to make our city even more successful. That’s why I've launched Our Time: Supporting Future Leaders to tackle gender inequality in the workplace and break down the barriers that prevent women from reaching the top.
"Our Time will work by pairing high potential women with senior management level champions who can open up the professional networks, opportunities and contacts that are so crucial to helping people progress in their careers.
"The initiative can be introduced in organisations across all sectors in London through our free implementation toolkit. This will help your organisation not only deliver the programme, but be part of a genuine step change across our city to boost the number of women in senior leadership positions.
"To begin with, Our Time has been specifically designed to address the disparity between men and women leaders. But going forward this initiative has the flexibility to help individuals from ethnic minority and other underrepresented backgrounds."