IR Magazine Forum – Women in IR

I attended a really insightful event on Friday hosted by the IR Magazine on Women in IR – Breaking the glass ceiling. The panel was made up of a series of senior IR leaders and great, thought provoking content was shared. Some of the highlights of the event include:

• As women we should “take the tentativeness out of emails and the way we speak” and be more authoritative to be heard and recognised
• We can change many things by 1% which will lead to a substantial change – there are not many things we can change by 100% immediately so small incremental changes will make a difference
• Diversity – The “30% club” takes away something for people to hide behind – “Having a clear target is very strong”
• In order for companies to be accountable to diversity targets, the recruitment process needs to change – blind CV sieving, interviews led by diverse panels and more robust processes to recruit fairly. Variable compensation for the senior leadership team should be suitably linked to D&I targets
• Women need to be proactive in their own career – be aware of your market value and empower yourself. Don’t undersell yourself
• “Don’t hide behind the fear of change, know what you want and go for it”

The full IR Magazine write up can be found here