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The importance of supporting working single-mothers in the asset management industry

The importance of supporting working single-mothers in the asset management industry

Katie.Dix / 17 Sep 2019

E2W member Guinevere Taylor - Associate Director at RBC Global Asset Management.

"I was listening to a great talk about diversity a few weeks ago, that focused on youth and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) representation in the asset management industry. An interesting snippet of information was that white, working class boys aged 16-25 face similar struggles to those of BAME backgrounds now. The discussion mentioned single parent families and the absence of the male role model. Whilst I am not BAME myself (I am half Fijian, but have white skin), it got me thinking about my experiences as a single Mother and how important I think it is to support the working single parent to help battle some of these issues. 

According to the Office of National Statistics (2017) there are around 1.8 million single parent families in the UK alone. 90% of these single parents are women aged around 38 ( a similar age associated with when a majority of women leave the asset management industry). They equate to 1/4 of all families with dependent children, so if we don’t support them right then the knock-on effect to the generation could be huge. 

From my personal experience, the asset management industry is tough for a single parent. Especially when you have limited help (both my parents still worked full time until my daughter was five years old and at primary school). Roles are meant to be 9-5, however you will often find a regular 08:30 meeting in your diary, or a meeting scheduled for 17:00. You are expected to attend team building drinks after hours and are seen as not being a team player if you aren’t there. It takes planning and pulling-in favours from family and friends to be able to make these out of hours events - not easy when they can be scheduled last minute. Run late, leave on time or ask for a late meeting to be rescheduled and you’re not seen as committed. However, nothing could be further from the truth!

The working single parent has already juggled a lot by the time they’ve arrived in the office; they’ve likely woken earlier than everyone else, gotten them self and their child ready, fed them breakfast and packed for the day, driven them to their nursery/childminder (the majority will not be able to afford a live-in Nanny), probably had to battle tears, or a tantrum on the way and then battled rush hour travel (childcare timings are normally 08:00 - 18:00) to get to work. 

They pay what is effectively a second mortgage (often with little help) for childcare and then have no choice but to finish dead-on 17:00 to race back in time to make pick-up, which is often looked down upon in this asset management field. It also means they will often have not taken a lunch break to get work done and will probably be logging back into work after putting their child to bed in order to ‘catch-up’.

In my opinion, when you think about all the effort a working single parent goes to just to be able to keep working I think the perception that they aren’t as committed is just unfair. It could be argued that they are actually more committed to their career, as they are going to such lengths to keep it going! 

It isn’t hard to see that these obstacles, alongside a culture of needing to be ‘seen’ working long hours and socialising with the right people over after hours drinks, many will choose to leave the asset management industry. The working parent often feels they are playing a difficult balancing act to just work, so when you don’t feel valued for that work, it’s easy to throw the towel in. I am glad that I didn't leave and now work at a company that gives me the flexibility to balance both my work and family commitments.

If we can change the current culture in asset management to help support the working single parent more, I think it would be beneficial not only for the industry, but also for society. Supporting more single parents into careers will give them more stability and self worth, and help to inspire the next generation to be more motivated for success."

If you would like to contribute to our blog by sharing your thoughts on topics or your career story please contact Katie.


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