Finance Monthly July 2019 Edition

HOW CAN MENTORING HELP WOMEN IN FINANCE GROW? Data from the Financial Times reveals that just over half of companies’ finance employees are female, and in 2017, 58% of those were at a junior level. Certainly, there is potential to increase the proportion of women in finance in more senior roles and help them climb the corporate ladder. Collette Huckle, Divisional Director at Reed Accountancy, believes that mentoring is the best way to achieve this and offers her five steps on how to grow professionally through mentoring. Learning from those outside of our industry Ambitious candidates should never let themselves stand still or be left behind. For many women in this position, including myself when I started, the next step is to begin seeking the support of women outside the industry, and joining a ‘Women in Leadership’ network. These organisations have inspirational women from across a range of sectors that want to share their wealth of knowledge and give advice. They are also willing to become mentors to the next generation that is just starting out in their careers. The value of this mentoring is priceless. For me, it has proven to be a really positive environment with proactive advice. This is a group I am still part of and I continue to value the advice and support offered there. I would advise anyone entering any career to join. It’s a very inspiring environment encouraging you to meet incredibly influential women. As part of the organisation, I’m currently mentoring five fantastic talents, all in different industries and with their own ambitions to fulfil because as a finance leader of the future, you can benefit from learning skillsets across sectors. Another key role of the Women in Leadership network is its ability to help you realise the personal barriers to progression, as there are a lot of them in the finance sector (imposter syndrome, etc.). Being confident to apply when not fully qualified From our perspective as specialist recruiters for both accountancy and finance, we notice that men are more likely to take a leap and apply for roles where they don’t quite meet the criteria, or they fall short on one or two of the skillsets asked for. 34 www.finance-monthly.com WOMEN IN FINANCE - MENTORING