Women in Financial Services
Women Supporting Women
Rhian Bowler / 28 Jun 2017
In my first role after graduating, when presenting a proposal to my boss, he told me, “there’s only one thing wrong with your idea, it’ s not mine”! I was reminded of this moment by the Punch cartoon where the man at the meeting asks other men around the table to make the suggestion put forward by Miss.Triggs!.
This situation has come up regularly during our Career Conversations and the recent Senior Leaders event where women have shared the problems they have encountered during meetings. ‘Getting your voices heard’, ‘being interrupted’, ‘comments/ suggestions being adopted by other men in the room’, and for some, not even being invited to the meeting, have all been experienced at some time.
The following tips and techniques were shared as ways to counteract predominately male behaviours during meetings and support each other to ensure voices are heard;
- Research who is attending the meeting and share your ideas with the female colleagues, so they are pre warned. They will be able to invite you into the discussion if they know you have something to contribute
- Ensure your female colleagues are aware of the ‘amplification’ technique (as used by the women in the Obama White House management team). When a comment is made by a female, each of you repeat it in turn and accredit it back to the contributor. This way comments cannot be adopted by male colleagues around the table
- Ensure female colleagues are not unfairly interrupted, and invite them back into the conversation to finish their contribution
- Ensure all women who want to speak, have had an opportunity.
We all agreed women can and should get better at supporting each other at work. I’m sure many of you already do this, but our challenge to all women is this:
- Can you support junior females in your team more effectively?
- Can you raise visibility of your female team members to more senior leaders?
- Can you do more to mentor other female colleagues?
- Do you ensure women take their place at the table (and get involved)?
Our call to you:
- What steps can will you take to support women in your workspace?
- Can you reach out to a new female connection in your office this week?
Our promise to you:
- We will support you in your career
- We will seek to support your organisation support you and other females
- We will introduce you to other similar minded women through the E2W Membership
Rhian Bowler rhian.bowler@e2w.co 01732 897733
E2W Career Coaching and Membership
Back to blog