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Constance Minc, chief financial officer at IFS, explains how mentoring can help elevate women in finance. 

For women, doubts can be raised through the process. A decision about whether or not to study accountancy can be impacted by the knowledge that the vast majority of CFOs (just under 90% according to research from Crist Kolder Associates) are men. The lack of visible role models for women thinking of taking on a finance post will act as a deterrent for many.   

The challenge certainly continues in the workplace though, and mentoring and support needs to be applied on an ongoing basis, especially when women working in finance look to rise through the ranks. Equileap’s Gender Equality Report & Ranking Report 2021 found that while women represent 50% of the workforce in financial companies globally, the representation of women remains low in higher levels of management, with an average of 26% women on the board of directors, 18% women on the executive team, and 28% women in senior management.

These are figures that demonstrate clearly that while mentoring at an early stage is important, this support must be present throughout a woman’s career to ensure that when the time comes they do not feel that they need to choose between a career and a family. Mentoring, in other words, needs to be about retention, not just recruitment and onboarding. 

Mentoring facilitates and supports diversity

The kind of mentoring outlined above can play a key supporting role to women working in finance, but perhaps, even more so, if like myself they are working in finance within a technology context, where there are generally few female role models to help show the way.  

I speak from personal experience. I wish I had had a mentor, or more specifically, a role model, when I was making my way into the corporate world and into finance. I wish I had been fortunate enough to have an experienced guide who had been through what I was about to go through, a voice of experience, someone in whom I could see ‘the future me’.

A mentor could have foreseen there would be “nice” but “chaotic” Monday mornings to deal with from actively participating in a family environment, something that a working mother has to embrace but I could still have the happiness of having a family and also a rewarding career. 

 A mentor could have taken me aside and said the reality is it’s going to be hectic but incredibly fulfilling. Mentors that can speak with the wisdom of experience have a vital role as guides to women in navigating the choppy waters of the corporate world. 

Providing reassurance and support

Many women in finance face daunting challenges: from entrenched attitudes, and the inevitable ‘imposter syndrome’ that a lack of positive role models gives rise to. 

Career breaks to build a family can also be challenging. Returning to the office after maternity leave, for example, can feel confusing and alienating when the business has gone through significant change. A mentor can help in providing support and reassurance, based on their own experience, and in highlighting the challenges they might face and solutions that might work. Going beyond even that, mentors can help give women in finance the confidence to believe: ‘It can be done, it is not a question of if, but when.’ 

An approach that works

The evidence suggests mentoring drives diversity by helping support women and minorities to achieve their business goals.  Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations found that mentoring programmes boosted minority representation at the management level by 9% to 24% (compared to -2% to 18% with other diversity initiatives). The same study found that these programmes also dramatically improved promotion and retention rates for minorities and women - 15% to 38% as compared to non-mentored employees. 

First steps on the road

I’d encourage women to come forward to mentor other women within a finance function or wider organisation and to reach out to their employers to support the facilitation of this. This could be done on an informal basis with the opportunity for regular check-ins between mentor and mentee, a review of progress, and an open discussion of progress and achievement.  Simply by engaging with other women in the business in this way, we can take on the status of role model.

Monthly check-ins on progress across the entire initiative from both mentors and mentees could also be put in place. Benchmarking goals could be established, alongside regular check-ins to ensure they’re on track. A reverse mentoring relationship may even naturally evolve from these processes, enabling the mentor to also benefit from the knowledge and understanding of the mentee, which can help build leadership qualities. 

Whatever the precise approach taken, an honest and genuine mentoring relationship will add tremendous value for women working in any finance or financial technology role. It is important for women to take the initiative and kick-start a mentoring process within their own business but both mentor and mentee should be confident in the knowledge that they are not alone in this endeavour.

Building a wider network

The retention of women also relies on networking. Across the industry, we are increasingly seeing groups and associations forming to promote the interests of women in finance, from the UK’s Women in Banking & Finance right through to the Financial Women’s Association, a New York-based network of female professionals from various sectors of the financial world. With the awareness that this kind of support is behind them, I am confident that more women working in finance will be encouraged into leadership roles. 

Informal networking can be just as invaluable. Building a close group of women that can rely on one another is invaluable. With that, together with mentoring, both formal and informal, the numbers of those having long successful careers in this industry should increase, businesses would benefit from a gender-equal finance function, and we would see a significant increase in the retention of women in finance roles.

The finance sector has traditionally been perceived to be male-dominated, so robust D&I strategies are essential to ensure a career in the industry is appealing to the next generation of professionals – no matter the individual’s gender, background or ability.

According to Kyra Cordrey, Director of Michael Page Finance , the drive to attract a more diverse workforce, including women and people from BAME backgrounds, is a positive step in the right direction. In fact, around 93% of our clients are now actively seeking advice on how to improve diversity and inclusivity within their teams.

Typically, the larger, regulated firms have led the charge on diversity in financial and professional services industries and have for many years driven an inclusion agenda. As a result, they have made more creative hires and through resetting their values, which is having positive impacts on their company culture. When compared to other industries, the finance sector is in some senses, relatively balanced and displays a high level of willingness to embrace diversity and inclusion. Implementing D&I is essential to addressing the under-representation of minority groups and to ensuring that a career within the industry can continue to appeal to the next generation of financial professionals.

This trend of underrepresentation in the financial services sector, particularly at senior level, is also backed up by research. According to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), gender diversity is low within the finance industry with women making up just around 17% of FCA-approved individuals. Despite several senior management regime changes, this figure has remarkably not changed since 2005. Currently, there is a slightly higher share of women employed at larger firms (23%) compared to smaller ones (17%).

Promoting a clear D&I programme

Finance professionals need to ensure their departments are on board with the vision and strategy set by the firm. It is important for HR managers to embed a robust D&I strategy for the business which facilitates a positive direction of movement for the company. If their company strategy has been put in place and the business is at the point at which they are publishing and celebrating their D&I success, it will become a virtuous circle of success.

It is important for HR managers to embed a robust D&I strategy for the business which facilitates a positive direction of movement for the company. If their company strategy has been put in place and the business is at the point at which they are publishing and celebrating their D&I success, it will become a virtuous circle of success.

PwC's Female Millennial Report also highlights that 85% of respondents believe that an employer’s policy on diversity, equality and workforce inclusion is an important factor when deciding whether to join a company. From this you can derive that a clear inclusion programme is essential factor for attracting high calibre candidates. It is also productive to have a dedicated senior team responsible for promoting this programme. For example, Heather Melville OBE is the Head of Business Inclusion Initiatives for RBS and has established the RBS Women’s Network, which aims to attract, retain and develop talented female members of staff, as part of the bank’s strategy to have a fully gender balanced workforce by 2030. She has been recognised as a leader who has made a difference to the economic empowerment of women worldwide and is now a patron of Women in Banking & Finance.

Supporting women in finance

As an employer or hiring manager, there are several improvements that can be made to the culture, hiring processes and mentoring programmes within an organisation which can better support and encourage women to strive for higher leadership roles. It goes without saying that these challenges cannot be simply solved by telling women to stop deselecting themselves. Rather, companies need to work better with aspiring women to progress their career journeys by encouraging them to share ideas and take on leadership tasks, while helping them recognise their strengths.

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Recognise strength at all levels and highlight to all that out of the box thinking and fresh ideas are welcomed, as well as respected. Such inclusive cultures encourage everyone within in an organisation to put themselves forward confidently, without the fear of failure or discrimination, which in turn ensures that women feel they can contribute their ideas and that they will be heard and valued by the business.

Men and women aren’t just different in the workplace but also during the interview stage. The interview process is a two-way evaluation. If companies do not convey the right impression to female candidates about the career progression, support, and the inclusive environment the business provides, the company runs the risk of missing out on valuable talent. We’ve also seen more organisations including both men and women in their hiring processes, for all roles.

Mentoring programmes

Mentorship is also a key tool for encouraging more women into leadership roles. Mentoring not only allows experienced senior leaders to share their knowledge, but it also affords those in junior positions the opportunity to explore their potential, as well as seek guidance on how to progress their career. Many businesses have internal mentoring programmes, but the key is to assess out how many were developed with female career progression as a key priority? The most crucial aspect of such a programme is support. A strong leader or successful role model in a senior position within the organisation can provide a wealth of insight, advice and encouragement to anyone looking to advance their career in finance. With a good mentorship programme in place, aspiring leaders benefit from fresh perspective, inspiration and the guidance needed to keep pushing themselves to reach the top.

If your organisation doesn’t have an internal mentoring programme, there are a lot of external examples which could support your business’ D&I strategy. For example, Women in Banking & Finance’s programme offers an opportunity to connect one-on-one with a fellow WIBF member. Mentees are matched to more senior mentors within WIBF and can seek career guidance, advice and support.

Diversity needs to be the tone at the top of any large business and attracting a diverse candidate pool is the start. However, to create a truly inclusive environment, providing the correct internal support is key to driving behavioural change.

  1. 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.).

  1. 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.

For women, there is often a reluctance to apply for roles unless they fit the job description completely. Again, this comes down to confidence, and considering that moving onto a new role involves learning new skills, women in finance need to be braver and just go for the role they’re interested in without overthinking it too much. With the right attitude and mental ability, which so financial professionals have, skills can be developed. After all, a career is always about development, otherwise, we would all end up standing still. The ambition to apply for roles where there are still areas to learn is something that employers often want to see.

This is where mentoring groups help. Having that strong network of talented, experienced people who can give you the confidence to apply is absolutely priceless. Fortunately, there are many groups that the next generation of leaders can turn to and it’s worth looking into local groups in your area which include both genders. These groups don’t offer just mentoring – they also tend to host roundtable discussions, best practice sharing and general networking to help you build a brilliant support network.

  1. Searching internally and getting help from your own company

My personal experience at REED has also played a major part in my career development. In fact, it was Sir Alec Reed, our company founder and my most recent mentor, who recommended I seek out an executive coach to continue my development. At REED, the support levels to progress are fantastic and this executive coaching was funded as part of the company’s personal development fund. The experience has been vital when it came to working on my confidence, leadership skills and ability to manage people. It has also confirmed my belief that good management includes a 360-degree approach - you can learn just as much from those you are mentoring as from those who are mentoring you.

  1. Being brave

An example of shared learning between a mentor and a mentee is the bravery that we need to show in order to put ourselves forward for roles. The next generation has such fearlessness in so many areas of their lives, and they are confident enough to let their management know that they want to progress or develop and move into a new role.

When I was at the beginning of my career I applied for a higher-rank role, and when my manager saw my application, they were almost surprised. They had no idea that I wanted to climb the ladder. I had shown that I was very good at my job, and as far as they were concerned, I was prime for a promotion, but because I hadn’t vocalised my ambitions I wasn’t moving nearly as quickly as I could have. I couldn’t help but wonder – would we see more women at the top if we were all louder about our ambitions?

  1. Having a company that helps

We cannot place the blame at the employee’s doorstep due to a lack of confidence, knowledge of support through mentoring or vocalising an ambition. And we cannot ask people to be something they are not in order to get ahead.

Companies that put mentoring programmes into action have an opportunity to really get to know people at their organisation, the strengths and weaknesses of all the employees and how they can be best developed.

This allows simple, effective changes. So often for women, flexibility is important as many are still the primary carer of their children and, as I experienced personally, need the time to work the school run into their schedule. Far too often in the past, it has been seen that having young kids slows down a career, but there is no reason why this should happen. Why can’t we have both? If there is a level of trust between an employer and an employee that the job will still get done, then career progression can, and should, continue within a flexible working culture.

We have to have lives, and a balance between private and professional is absolutely essential to being happy. There should never be a moment where we put too much pressure on ourselves and feel overwhelmed. Having someone close to turn to ensures there’s less chance of this happening.

The percentage of women in senior roles of finance organisations is increasing, but gradually. There are companies and people, both men and women, who are leading the way to greater equality and we need to use them to teach best practice. For my own part, I would have never been able to climb the ladder without the network of mentors and managers that have given me the support I needed.

Through mentoring, being a bit louder with our ambitions, and having willing companies that consider work-life balance, we can continue to increase the number of women in senior roles. We just have to all work together to achieve it.

 

A business’s success comes down to the employees that power the operation which means that it is essential that you keep hold of your best workers. This can be challenging as the top performers will usually be looking to progress and earn more money. Here are a few tips:

Career Development Opportunities

As mentioned, the top performers will usually want to advance their career whether this is within the company or by making a move. Therefore, you need to try and keep them at your company by offering options for promotion and development in the form of training.

Additional Responsibilities

Leading on from this, the top performers can easily become bored if they are excelling in their responsibilities. This means that you need to keep them active and engaged so additional responsibilities can be an effective way of doing this while helping them to develop their abilities and find areas of the business that interest them. This could involve leading a project, managing a small team, giving a presentation etc.

Positive Feedback

Positive feedback is incredibly important yet often overlooked by business owners. Additionally, the top performers often do not get positive feedback as sometimes owners will believe that they do not require it. This is not the case as it is important that all hard work is recognized, appreciated and celebrated.

Financial Wellbeing Resources

A good salary is, of course, crucial for retaining employees, but it is also important that you can provide financial wellbeing resources for workers. Personal money matters can have a huge impact on employee wellbeing, so if you are able to help your staff to improve their money management then it could have a huge impact on retention, as well as morale, productivity and absenteeism.

Mentors

It can also be helpful for those that are performing well to have a mentor who can help them with career advice and to further engage them with the company. These mentors should be senior employees who are good at engaging with younger staff and are able to provide valuable support.

In order to grow and succeed, it is essential that a business is able to keep hold of its top performers. If the best workers left, then you will constantly have voids to fill which will result in dips in performance. The above are the best strategies to use to keep hold of your top performers and help them to enjoy their work and maximize their abilities. Retaining employees is all about recognizing their talent, providing them with opportunities to grow and develop within the company and creating a positive working atmosphere. This should then inspire your entire workforce to work hard each and every day.

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