Why women supporting women is the leadership change finance needs

By Gail Gibson

My search for women’s truths, not another leadership model

The idea for this piece began with a question I couldn’t quite shake: how do we genuinely future-proof women leaders in finance? Not in theory, not through another initiative or workshop, but in the real world, through lived experience.

That question first emerged in conversation. A colleague and I were talking, one of us based in the UK, the other in the US, reflecting on how often we were both hearing the same things from women leaders. Questions about confidence and visibility. About sponsorship, silence, and what subtly shifts once you reach senior leadership.

That conversation stayed with me. We talked more about it, challenged each other’s assumptions, and eventually agreed to avoid overcomplication. Instead, we decided to listen with deliberate intention. We set out to interview women leaders in our respective countries, to hear directly from a broad range of voices and experiences, across different systems and contexts.

This piece reflects what I heard in the UK and APAC.

Over six months, I interviewed senior women across UK finance, fintech, risk, technology and governance: CEOs and COOs, non-executive directors and senior leaders navigating complexity, scale and transition. Different paths. Different institutions. And yet, the same themes kept surfacing.

Many had spent long stretches of their careers as one of the few women at the top. Often the only one. UK financial services environments where little is said explicitly, yet expectations are clear. Bias rarely announces itself, yet it still shapes opportunity. Doing your job well is necessary, but rarely enough.

What became obvious was this: confidence and capability are not the issue. These women are experienced, credible and driven. However, they are navigating systems that continue to expect women to adapt, rather than systems that evolve alongside the leaders within them.

Stretch without cover

Stretch roles surfaced in every conversation. Not because women weren’t ready, but because stretch often arrived with hidden tests attached.

Andrea Blackman, a senior leader, recalled an early moment when a respected manager asked whether her husband’s career move would shape her future. It was said casually, yet it stayed with her. Her leadership trajectory was conditional and subordinate to that of her husband’s.

Jessica Rizkallah, a senior manager, described the testing more directly:

“People will test you and try to see if you are up to the level, 10x more than men.”

Wendy Redshaw, a chief information and digital officer, shared what happened when she stepped into a senior technology role and heard whispers that her appointment was about gender rather than merit. She chose to address the narrative head-on.

“I began my first Townhall with a slide that read, ‘She only got this job because she is a woman,’ then I cantered the audience through my CV so they could make their own minds up.”

What mattered wasn’t the challenge itself, but how it was met. As Koral Anderson, a non-executive director, reflected:

“Nobody puts you in a role expecting you to fail. The intention is success.”

Stretch is not the issue. Stretch without support is.

Visibility and the cost of silence

Being one of the few changes how everything is experienced. Decisions feel more visible. Mistakes feel louder. Success is more easily questioned.

Wendy Redshaw captured the cost of constant self-monitoring:

“If you have to suppress your character to fit in, it gradually reduces the opportunity to add value.”

For Saryah Kerr, an operations director, bias often showed up in tone rather than substance:

“I’ve been told I was negative for challenging a point,” she said, “but when a man does the same thing, he’s seen as driving change.”

She also spoke about quieter leadership styles being overshadowed:

“Don’t let others with a louder voice overshadow who you are or your greatness.”

The issue here is not volume. The issue is what organisations choose to value.

Sponsorship, not just support

Mentorship mattered. Coaching helped. Peer networks provided grounding, particularly as leadership became more isolating. But sponsorship – visible, vocal advocacy – was far rarer.

Wendy Redshaw put it:

“You don’t get to pick whether you’re a role model or whether you inspire someone. Whatever you do or say, people will make their own minds up on what they take away.”

Jo Mayer, a non-executive director, was clear about what sponsorship really means:

“A sponsor isn’t there to get you the role; they’re there to make sure you’re genuinely ready for it.”

At the most senior levels, understanding how influence works becomes critical. Shalini Pavithran, a chief executive officer, described struggling to gain traction at board level until she changed her approach.

“Understanding how influence works at the Board level was key. Not through any single route, but by building individual relationships, recognising different perspectives, and adapting to what matters most in each context.”

Power moves through relationships, access and insight. Knowledge that too many women are left to piece together through trial and error.

Adaptability without disappearing

Adaptability emerged as a real strength. Koral Anderson reflected on leading across cultures:

“In Japan, I had to stop being so direct.”

“In the US, I had to bang the table more.”

Yet that flexibility often came at a cost. More than one woman described the same pattern: when a challenge by women is labelled as difficult, yet the very same behaviour from men is applauded as strong leadership.

Leadership range is an asset, but it isn’t rewarded consistently.

Self-advocacy and the power of voice

Self-advocacy was often learned late.

“People expect you to ask for help. Nobody is a mind reader,” said Saryah Kerr.

Lucy Thompson, a managing director, described how her understanding of confidence shifted after returning from parental leave:

“I said, ‘Look, my brain is not working right now,’ and then I got back on course. That humility gave me a real confidence boost.”

Confidence, as she framed it, is about trust, not control.

The Choice at the top

The most nuanced reflections came from women in the C-suite. Many spoke about the pull to fit in once they had made it, to protect credibility and avoid disruption.

Shalini Pavithran described this moment clearly:

“As we rise, we lift another woman.”

Not as a slogan. A responsibility that comes with senior leadership. Because once women reach the most senior levels, they are no longer just navigating the system; they are shaping it. Who is sponsored. Who gets named. Whose risk is carried. Whose leadership is seen as credible.

This is the inflection point, where leadership shifts from surviving the system to being accountable for how it works, and where progress either accelerates or quietly stalls because systems don’t change themselves.

Systems change when women with influence and impact choose to lead differently.

Be the change. Shift the narrative

I am hopeful about the future of women’s leadership across finance and regulated markets. Not because the system is suddenly fair – it isn’t – but because more senior women are choosing not to recreate the environments they survived.

They are choosing to be the change.
They are speaking up when silence would be easier.
They are backing other women, visibly not quietly.
They are changing who we expect to lead, what we recognise as leadership and how we support their rise.

This is how systems change.

One sponsorship conversation.
One voice used differently.
One decision to lift, rather than conform.

That is how leadership evolves.
That is how the narrative shifts.
That is how we future-proof women’s leadership.

**Who are you taking with you?**

About Gail Gibson

Gail partners with senior women leaders and organisations navigating complexity, performance, and change in high-performance environments. As a strategic advisor, executive coach, and coach supervisor, she brings over 30 years of global leadership experience across the UK, EMEA, and APAC. Her work focuses on how leadership shows up in practice — informing influence, sponsorship, and outcomes — and strengthening women’s leadership to support progression and system-level change within financial services and other regulated
sectors.

Contact
Email: gail@gailmgibson.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gailmgibson/
Mobile/WhatsApp: +447950193312