Patron's Message
Message from Patron
Dear friends and colleagues,
It is a great honour to be selected as Patron of WIBF, an organisation I have known and worked with for years.
The more experience I have, the more I have realised the importance of networks, and ours is one that has grown in numbers, stature, and importance. Many of the opportunities in finance have opened up and broadened for women over the past decades, but we still face many challenges in our professional lives, and in the combination of our professional and personal lives. Having a group of individuals to learn from and share with is a great benefit, and I am pleased to be a part of this essential network.
Over the past forty years, there have been some significant changes in the opportunities and challenges for women in the fields of banking and finance. However, progress to senior positions, particularly in the larger firms, has been slower than I could have anticipated when I started in this field. I hope that in my term as Patron I will be able to share with you the experience I have gained.
In particular, I would like to focus on three areas.
Confidence If you can do your job, and more, take the risk on yourself for more responsibility. Think about my 80/20 rule: when looking at a job specification, women will self-nominate if they have 80% of the “required skills and experience”; men will self-nominate with 20% and leave the rest to be learned on the job. We need to change this ratio.
Enthusiasm You do have to like doing the job to do it well, so make sure there is something in it – content, brand, people, opportunity – that makes you want to be there. If not, try something else.
Profile Not only must women do the job well, but they must be seen to be doing it well. Be proud of the work you do and be sure to get credit for it. Here, I think many women let themselves down: if you’re behind the scene getting things done, get out in front of the curtain from time to time to be sure someone is watching.
Progress for women in the industry may have been slow over the past decades, and much remains to be done. Working together we can influence the industry, and help to accelerate change in the future.
Noreen Doyle
Patron Women in Banking and Finance
June 2012
Message from Past Patron (July 2008-June 2012):
It was both an honour and a pleasure to accept the invitation of Women in Banking and Finance to be Patron of such an important networking group. The word Patron is defined as a supporter and comes from the Latin, patronus meaning protector. I will do my best to support the endeavours of both individuals and groups and to protect the hard won reputation of WIBF. I have been actively involved in supporting and protecting the advancement of women since 1976 when the Equal Pay Act was introduced.
I worked for one of the Industrial Training Boards and became responsible for Women’s Development quite early on. A great deal has changed, often improved for women, however some things, like pay, remain stubbornly at a lower rate and new issues emerge. Within a woman’s career, there are still four areas which need energy and attention.
‘Getting In’ That is choosing the right career focus and getting into the right job in the right organisation.
‘Getting On’ Starting in a new job and a new company is only the beginning. We have to learn about the three ‘C’s’. The culture, the content and the connections. How the organisation works, its history, values and shadow side. Who the key people are and what the key strategic objectives are.
‘Getting Up’ We need to focus on the next interesting task and role and understand how we can travel there. The old career ladders are disappearing and instead we have a giant, sprawling climbing frame where we can move along, down and up at our own speed and our own direction.
‘Moving On’ Knowing when and how to move on, broaden out or take on additional roles, for example on Public Sector Boards as part of our portfolio, is extremely important or we can become stale or stuck. There is still a great deal to do if we want to live happy and fulfilled lives and make a difference and I am sure that the development programme of WIBF will help to make this a reality rather than just an aspiration. Baroness Rennie Fritchie DBE
Patron Women in Banking & Finance
July 2008
I worked for one of the Industrial Training Boards and became responsible for Women’s Development quite early on. A great deal has changed, often improved for women, however some things, like pay, remain stubbornly at a lower rate and new issues emerge. Within a woman’s career, there are still four areas which need energy and attention.
‘Getting In’ That is choosing the right career focus and getting into the right job in the right organisation.
‘Getting On’ Starting in a new job and a new company is only the beginning. We have to learn about the three ‘C’s’. The culture, the content and the connections. How the organisation works, its history, values and shadow side. Who the key people are and what the key strategic objectives are.
‘Getting Up’ We need to focus on the next interesting task and role and understand how we can travel there. The old career ladders are disappearing and instead we have a giant, sprawling climbing frame where we can move along, down and up at our own speed and our own direction.
‘Moving On’ Knowing when and how to move on, broaden out or take on additional roles, for example on Public Sector Boards as part of our portfolio, is extremely important or we can become stale or stuck. There is still a great deal to do if we want to live happy and fulfilled lives and make a difference and I am sure that the development programme of WIBF will help to make this a reality rather than just an aspiration. Baroness Rennie Fritchie DBE
Patron Women in Banking & Finance
July 2008
