I refer to your article headlined Women in Finance Charter signed (FA, 16 June).
As a woman in finance focusing on providing a financial planning service to women, I have a vested interest in the growth of women at all levels in the financial planning profession and financial services industry. Women do not suddenly achieve board level.
By way of clarification, let me compare this to my previous profession in the Armed Forces. I served with a fellow pilot officer who is now an Air Chief Marshal and a senior member of the Air Force Board. He attained this rank after progressing through the officer ranks from pilot officer, and learning and gaining experience along the way.
If we expect women to take a meaningful place in the decision-making of a boardroom, we also need to ensure an adequate entry level and ways to motivate, encourage and mentor them so they progress through to board level. It is not about establishing a quota at board level, it is recruiting them at entry level. We need to develop a robust and caring career progression that allows women to flourish in our industry to take an equal position.
Imagine how disappointed I was when I suffered gender discrimination at a recent business development meeting. Before the meeting started, the organiser came out and shook the hands of all of the men, but ignored me, and then addressed the start of the meeting with: “Good morning gentlemen”, ignoring the two women in the room.
How on earth do you expect women to progress through a firm to board level if they are ignored in a normal meeting environment? Women in the boardroom starts with a culture of respect and inclusion as part of the ethical behaviour of those already at board level.
Susan Hill
Chartered financial planner,
Susan Hill Financial Planning,
St Albans,
Hertfordshire
