Female representation at the board level of FTSE 100 companies may have increased in the last few years – rising from 39% in 2021 to 44% in 2025 – but there still remain only nine female CEOs among the top echelon of UK business.
Vodafone’s Women in Leadership apprenticeship aims to support greater gender diversity by providing 18 employees with the training needed to thrive in leadership roles.
Across 20 months, the operational management apprenticeship, which is delivered by Tack TMI, will see these employees undertake at least six hours of learning each week.
With 8 March 2026 marking International Women’s Day, Vodafone UK News sat down with three participants of the Women in Leadership apprenticeship to hear what they have learnt from the programme so far.
Women in Leadership: Natalie-Levi Davidson – Operations Manager
“For me, supporting female leadership across the business is deeply personal,” explains Natalie-Levi Davidson, an Operations Manager working in the Business Operations department at Vodafone.
“I’ve been with Vodafone for ten years and, throughout that journey, it’s made a big difference when I could see women ahead of me who had similar backgrounds or experiences to myself.”
Having worked her way up from frontline roles to her current operations management position, Natalie now leads a team or around 90 full-time employees.
During this time, she has completed a NVQ Level 3 Team Leader qualification, equipping her with the skills needed to lead large, complex projects that require deep, strategic thinking.
The Women in Leadership apprenticeship has given her an opportunity to refine these leadership behaviours and, importantly, to do so among her female peers.
“We all come from different areas of the business, different teams and different backgrounds,” says Natalie-Levi, “so being able to learn from each other’s perspectives has been incredibly powerful.”
“But, ultimately, strong female leadership doesn’t just benefit women – it benefits the whole organisation. And I want to play my part in shaping that future.”
Women in Leadership: Laurence Harris – Strategy Manager
Laurence Harris applied for the Women in Leadership apprenticeship programme soon after joining Vodafone in 2024.
The Strategy Manager hoped it would help her build a network across the business while supporting with the ‘manager’ side of her role.
“It has delivered on both fronts,” says Laurence. “Building this network has been super helpful and it’s been empowering to learn from everyone’s experiences and stories.”
“It has also taught me which practical tools and frameworks can be helpful to use in my role, while strengthening my confidence as a leader and encouraging me to take on new opportunities.”
Only a few months in, Laurence is already seeing the dividends, having opened up discussions with her manager about how to leverage this new toolkit as she thinks about the next step in her career.
Although, she is quick to stress that the benefits of the apprenticeship go far beyond her own personal development.
“Supporting female leaders is so important, and building a strong community of female leaders means we can lift each other up as role models, leaning on each other for advice and support when it’s needed.”
Celebrating International Women’s Day 2026 at VodafoneThree
Following the merger of Vodafone and Three in June 2025, VodafoneThree is working hard to create a culture where everyone can thrive.
In less than a year of operation, VodafoneThree was ranked the 6th Top Employer in the UK by the Top Employers Institute.
Alongside Vodafone’s Women in Leadership apprenticeship, VodafoneThree is hosting an International Women’s Day 2026 panel event.
Presented to a live audience of VodafoneThree employees, the panel will see Director of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability, Nicki Lyons, joined by Karen Carney OBE and Trussell CEO, Emma Revie, to discuss more.
This year’s discussion provides an important moment to reflect on progress toward gender equity across business and society, while outlining VodafoneThree’s range of leading policies in the space.
