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Hello Amanda, Congratulations on your recent appointment as the new Interim Chief Executive Office of Career Masterclass, Please describe yourself in 3 words.
Super grateful to the entire team at Career Masterclass. To your question, I would say that I am Courageous, Inspiring and Driven
Being in the industry for over a decade, what (professional) accomplishment are you most proud of?
Building 100 Women in Finance from literally 100 women in hedge funds in NYC to a global organization of 30,000 professionals (women and men) in 32 locations across 5 continents. I’m particularly proud to have been part of the 2022 and 2023 launches in Africa, enabling women on the continent to connect globally.
What excites you the most about joining Career Masterclass?
Being able to create greater visibility amongst US and UK firms for Career Masterclass’s fantastic programing, especially the six month TAP training program and the STRETCH Conference, both of which are geared towards equipping and inspiring black and other ethnically diverse professionals across various industries.
Helping to establish and grow a global peer network for Career Masterclass professionals as a continuation of the existing cohort programming, enabling greater connectivity and access to opportunities and support for black and ethnically diverse professionals.
The theme for IWD this year is ‘Investing in Women’. How can organisations invest in women, particularly those from an under-represented background?
One of the characteristics of many professional women is that while they work hard and perform, they don’t take the time to invest in themselves. This is due to the fact that women often play double duty and have responsibilities outside of the workplace that take up their time and efforts. One of the best ways for organisations to invest in women is to support women in “investing in themselves” and subsequently in their future career.
Organisations should be deliberate about encouraging women to participate in ongoing training and development (for confidence and skill building) to engage in internal and external speaking opportunities (for visibility) and to join external networks (for networking.) Organisations should provide financial support to pursue these development opportunities but also give women explicit permission to take the time during the working day for their development and progression.
When you’re not working, what do you do?
If you ask my husband, I’m never “not” working! That said, I enjoy watching tv dramas and films, especially those where my husband is the Sound Recordist! And I love to travel.
Tell us briefly about your career journey and figures who invested in you along the way.
After Oxford, I started my career in London working at the Head Office of an environmental services firm. It was the first of seven different industries, all of them in male dominated sectors. After 2 years there, my (male) boss gave me an opportunity to go to the US with the firm, and I took it. Since then, I’ve worked in the US for an environmental lab testing firm; in market research at an ad agency; at a Caterpillar dealership doing marketing; at Unisys doing computer hardware sales, at a dotcom – and then joined a hedge fund in NYC, founded by one of my best friends from Oxford. I have to say it was my male bosses who invested in me, giving me visibility and encouraging me to take stretch assignments. In 2006, I founded a business to consult to non profit organisations, and in 2014, one of my then clients, 100 Women in Finance, asked me to become CEO. I held this role till last year.
In your experience, what are some of the biggest challenges women face in their careers, and how can organisations actively address these challenges?
In my travels around the world, I’ve observed that women share a common belief about the workplace: that if you work hard and perform, someone will notice you. While this works at school and University, it isn’t enough in the business world, where success is largely framed by relationships and informal or formal networks. For many women this is exacerbated by their midcareer, because they often find themselves one of few women in the room (with women of colour doubly affected) and therefore unconsciously excluded from the informal networks and “natural” relationships that develop, mostly male dominated. By the way, this is not to blame men. Indeed, I believe many men want to be helpful. We just need to give them practical ways to be part of the solution, through allyship and positive support.
Companies can actively address these challenges in many ways, including:
– ensuring the right incentives are in place to support data-driven performance related promotion versus a relationship-biased approach to promotions
– being deliberate about finding opportunities for women to be visible both internally and externally so they are seen as experts in their own right by both colleagues and clients
– encouraging women to join external peer networks that provide a safe space for sharing of experiences “with your people” who can support you through challenges and opportunities
How can companies invest in women so they thrive in leadership roles?
One of the most important things that firms can do to encourage more women into leadership roles is to provide a clear pathway to that leadership role, and the training/development and sponsorship needed to get there. If there are senior women at the firm, they should be as visible as possible in talking about their career path, noting that most pathways to leadership for women are not akin to a career ladder, and more akin to a winding path! Once there, leadership can be a very lonely place, even more so for women. Firms should support senior leaders by facilitating access to an Advisory Board whose role is to ensure leaders can avoid blind spots and access technical expertise as issues arise. And women should find their external peers (men or women) to facilitate confidential discussion around challenges and opportunities at their firm.
Beyond the ethical imperative, what are the tangible business benefits of investing in women and fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment?
We live in a world where more than 50% of the population are female. This population consumes products, is increasingly more highly educated than their male counterparts, and has a different experience of life for biological and psychological reasons. So if you want to build a successful business, why wouldn’t you want a diverse team of people who can understand diverse client needs, can discover new growth opportunities (based on “gaps” they are uniquely positioned to see) and help the business avoid risk blind spots that occur when teams are too homogeneous?
There are so many studies that demonstrate the increase in bottom line results and performance if companies deploy diverse teams. The real challenge is finding leaders and managers who are able to lead a diverse group of individuals who don’t share their life experiences. We are all more comfortable being with those who look like us, speak like us and have similar backgrounds. The challenge for firms is to find the right leadership with the skills necessary to find potential in all members of the team.
Mentorship and sponsorship are often cited as crucial components of investing in women’s career development. How can mentorship programs and sponsorship opportunities be structured to maximize their impact on women’s advancement?
Let’s take sponsorship first. I think it’s absolutely imperative for women to have a sponsor (man or woman) within the firm. That sponsor can advocate for you when you are not in the room; help you to navigate company politics; point you in the right direction when you need support and be a career coach to you as you progress up the ranks. Firms should enable sponsorship programs in a structured and formal manner to ensure that women are not overlooked.
It’s less clear to me that traditional senior/junior mentoring (typically with someone outside the firm) programs are as helpful as sponsorship. When it comes to mentoring, in my experience you are better off “finding your people” through an external professional network, and then further finding your couple of peer mentors. Peer mentors act as a mutual support mechanism with each person sharing their experience and expertise with the others in the small group. Truly, a buddy system that can take you through your entire career. Firms should sponsor and support women to join these external networks.