Social Mobility: Empowering women’s careers through insight and action

About this event

Mid-career should be a time when experience translates into greater opportunity. For many women, however, this is also the point at which barriers involving visibility, caring responsibilities, confidence, financial resilience and access to influential networks can become more pronounced.

Socio-economic background adds another dimension. It can affect entry into financial and professional services, but its influence does not end once someone secures a role. Access to sponsorship, informal knowledge, development opportunities and the financial flexibility needed to navigate career decisions can continue to shape progression throughout working life.

This event will bring together research, lived experience and senior industry perspectives to examine how gender and socio-economic background interact, what organisations may be overlooking and how better insight can lead to more effective action.

Dr Louise Ashley, Associate Professor at Queen Mary University of London Business School, brings extensive research into diversity and inclusion within large professional-services firms. Her work has examined gender, ethnicity and socio-economic background, and she has led research for the Social Mobility Commission into the barriers affecting access to professions including law, accountancy and investment banking.

She will be joined by two senior leaders whose careers offer different perspectives on progression within financial services.

Kimberley Kelly-Naughton, Risk Partner and Director for Operations and CDIO at Cynergy Bank, has built a career spanning administration, relationship management, financial crime and risk. Her non-traditional route through banking provides valuable insight into transferable skills, career development and the range of pathways available within the sector.

Together, the panel will explore:

How socio-economic background can influence women’s careers beyond entry-level recruitment
Why mid-career can become a critical point for progression or attrition
The role of visibility, networks, sponsorship and access to development
How caring responsibilities and financial resilience can affect career decisions
What workforce data can reveal about recruitment, retention and progression
Why collecting data creates little value unless organisations act on what it shows
How greater transparency can strengthen accountability and inform talent strategy
Practical steps employers can take to create fairer routes into leadership

Hosted by WIBF’s Claudia Watkins, the discussion will combine evidence with personal and organisational experience. It is designed for women navigating their own career progression as well as leaders working across talent, inclusion, people strategy and organisational change.

Attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of the less visible factors shaping progression and practical ideas for creating workplaces in which talent can advance regardless of background.

Event format:

5.30pm–6.00pm: Arrival and registration
6.00pm–6.45pm: Panel discussion
6.45pm–8.00pm: Networking

Bookings will close on Sunday 4 October.

Your panelist

Risk Partner – Director (SMF24 – Operations & CDIO), Cynergy Bank Kimberley Kelly-Naughton

Kimberley's career in banking spans almost 20 years and certainly hasn't followed a traditional path.

She's worked across a wide range of roles, from administration and relationship management through to financial crime, and risk management.

These experiences have given her a deep appreciation of the different skills, perspectives and career opportunities that exist within financial services.

Today, as Risk Partner - Director for Operations and CDIO at Cynergy Bank, she supports the Bank in delivering strategic change, operational resilience and effective risk management, while remaining passionate about helping others develop and navigate their own career journeys.

Associate Professor at Queen Mary University of London Business School Dr Louise Ashley

Dr Louise Ashley is associate professor at Queen Mary University of London Business School, an associate Fellow of its Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, and Research Fellow at The Bridge Group, the leading organisation providing thought leadership and analysis on social equality. She specialises in researching the implementation and development of diversity and inclusion programmes in large, multinational professional service firms, with a particular focus on gender, ethnicity and socio-economic background. Louise has published articles in leading academic journals, and led teams appointed by the government’s Social Mobility Commission (SMCPC) to understand non-educational barriers to the elite professions, including law, accountancy and investment banking.

Social Mobility Lead, WIBF Daria Preston

WIBF Host Claudia Watkins

Claudia is a Product and Strategy professional with experience across financial markets infrastructure and digital products, combining financial services knowledge with quantitative analysis, executive communication, and cross-functional delivery.

Experience across product strategy, client engagement, and lifecycle management at CLS Group, with a focus on translating market, client, and operational insights into structured recommendations within regulated financial services environments.

Strong interest in financial technology, market infrastructure, and strategic transformation.