Posted on by Tolu Akisanya

Press Release

PIMFA Women in Wealth Forum Encourages Culture Changes to Help Improve Gender Equality in Finance

Tuesday 15th October 2019

 

PIMFA – the trade association for personal investment managers and financial advisers – welcomed over 100 delegates at their Women in Wealth Forum last week, in Central London.

The event featured an array of leading industry experts, to inspire, empower and educate women who are aspiring to leadership positions in the investment management and financial advice industry. The event also highlighted the importance of having an inclusive open forum for men and women, to lead the equality debate and affect real change.

Sarah Kaiser, Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion at Fidelity International, kicked off the day with her views on how to nurture a diverse workforce. She explained why companies needed to build a diverse and inclusive culture to address the huge challenges thrown up by the fast-changing business environment.

She said, “If you want to succeed in the modern world this [diversity] needs to be a priority, those that are more diverse are three times more likely to be profitable, innovative, have higher sales, attract better employees, and have up to 153% stronger customer relations. The business case has been decidedly proven.”

Anita Rolls, Founder of So What Do You Do, led a practical, interactive session that looked at key trends disrupting today’s world of work, the implications this has for individuals, and how they can capitalise on opportunities.

She explained, “high IQ and EQ is no longer the only key to succeed in the workplace, but also CQ (Career Intelligence), which can enable people to think and act more like the ‘CEO of You’ in their careers. Career Intelligence is a simple framework that will help clarify what’s important to you in your career and how you can start to manage it more pro-actively – whether you’re just starting out, or you’re a more experienced professional looking for your next challenge.”

Following this session, Mark Freed, CEO of E2W, highlighted the importance of ‘allyship’ within the industry, saying, “an ally is someone you combine or unite with for mutual benefit.

“If the equality movement started just over 100 years ago, men have been the mostly silent recipients of its benefits ever since. To make the final steps towards a society where everyone can make their own life and career choices, where we succeed based on ability, we need men to step up. Men need to recognise the benefits they have received as a consequence of the female-led fight for equality and then join the fight to its finish. Men need to step up to the front line.”

Tracey Reddings, Managing Director of Reddings Wealth Management, closed the day, by sharing her career journey and discussing the importance and key traits of authentic leadership with purpose, and how firms can combine human purpose with commercial objective.

Tracey explained, “Leading with purpose, can help create a happy and fulfilled team, which leads to satisfied clients, which ultimately leads to and equals profit. Success depends on surrounding yourself with great people and giving them space and autonomy to grow”.

PIMFA Chief Executive Liz Field said:

“We are delighted to be holding our Women in Wealth forum again the year and would like to thank our Partners Fidelity International for their support throughout this series. From promoting the importance of allyship, and how male colleagues can help change the industry, to practical tips to help women strategically think about their careers and how to confidently go forward and achieve success I think there has been some fantastic takeaways from today’s forum, something for all of us to keep in mind, regardless of gender.

The Women in Wealth Forum was designed to be an interactive session to inspire, empower and educate men and women to help address and tackle the barriers to women’s careers, and enable personal development. We’re looking forward to holding this series again next year, to both share positive examples from firms who have implemented new strategies to enhance the diversity in their organisations and feature others, who can provide practical tools and techniques to aid personal development.”

PIMFA will continue to run the Women in Wealth series in 2020. #PIMFAWomenInWealth

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NOTES FOR EDITORS:

About PIMFA – the Personal Investment Management & Financial Advice Association

  • PIMFA is the leading trade association for firms that provide personal investment management and financial advice to everyone from individuals and families to charities, pension funds, trusts and companies.
  • PIMFA represents both full and associate member firms. Full members provide a range of financial solutions including financial advice, portfolio management, as well as investment and execution services. They assist everyone from individuals and families, to charities and pension funds, all the way to trusts and companies. Associate members provide professional services to the PIMFA community.
  • PIMFA leads the debate on policy and regulatory recommendations to ensure that the UK remains a global centre of excellence in the wealth management, investment advice and financial planning arena. Our mission is to create an optimal operating environment so that its member firms can focus on delivering the best service to clients, providing responsible stewardship for their long-term savings and investments.
  • PIMFA was created in 2017 as the outcome of a merger between the Association of Professional Financial Advisers (APFA) and the Wealth Management Association (WMA) with a history as a trade association since 1991 – read more.
  • Further information can be found at pimfa.co.uk
  • To become a member of PIMFA for access to training, benefits and discounts, please visit https://www.pimfa.co.uk/become-a-member or contact us directly at membership@pimfa.co.uk

PIMFA PRESS CONTACT

For further information on this release or other press matters please contact:

  • Tolu Akisanya, PIMFA PR Manager – tolua@pimfa.co.uk +44 (0)20 7382 0376
  • Sheena Gillett, PIMFA Director of PR & Communications – sheenag@pimfa.co.uk +44 (0)20 7011 9869