To celebrate International Women’s Day, WiBF Birmingham collaborated with Robert Walters’ Empowering Women in the Workplace Campaign for an evening panel event.
Compered by ITV’s Emma Jesson, the panel event was opened with a recap of what international women’s day is all about.
Joined by:
Melanie Williams, Partner DWF,
Amanda Murphy, Head of Commercial Banking (UK) HSBC,
Parminder Fells, COO Integration & Alignment Deutsche Bank,
Julia Lowe, Partner and Head of Dispute Resolution at Higgs & Sons,
Jo Hanley, Regional Board Member of Women in Banking & Finance (Birmingham) and International Oversight, Lloyd’s Banking Group.
Discussions for the first half of the session centred on how mentoring had played a key part during each of the panellist careers. It’s important to know the difference between a mentor and a sponsor. The second half of discussions moved onto how we can all play a part in supporting women to have the confidence to put their hand up.
Key takeaways were, it’s OK to have a bad day and be brave enough to say so. Offer up help - those in senior positions will be grateful for the help and provides you the opportunity to show what you are capable of. Don’t be afraid to ask for the opportunity, no one else will ask for you.
Personal Excellence Programme