International Women's Day might be over, but we're still celebrating the achievements and contributions of women at Equals Money. We've still got a way to go, but we're working every day to help break the bias.
Read on to hear from the women of Equals Money about the challenges they've been through, how they've been supported in their careers, and what they value as a working woman.
Want to learn more about life at Equals and our company culture?
While working at Equals, I've been pregnant, on maternity leave and returned back to work full time. Balancing family life and my career is challenging in many ways. Having flexible working arrangements, both before and during the pandemic, has made the world of difference.
I've been fortunate to work with and learn from some fantastic people over the years, who have spotted my potential and given me opportunities to grow and develop.
When I first took on a large programme of work, there were a number of calls where I was the only woman on the calls with suppliers and partners - and I was also younger by a long way. I really had to learn to make my voice heard. As the project manager I had the most detail, but I was cautious of diving in for fear of offending or seeming ‘too pushy’. While I felt supported by our senior team, it took time for me to gain the confidence to (politely) interject to steer the conversation, or when I thought the conversation was either going down the wrong path or incorrect information was shared. Ultimately it came down to experience and learning that I was in control of how people perceived me.
In my time here I’ve never been told a flat ‘no’ to an idea or to my next project or step in my career. I’ve found the exec to be open to suggestions for improvements, and the voices on the SLT and project teams to be balanced, with women often leading the charge on technical streams.
I value the team around me - I’m constantly inspired by the drive and skill I see across Growth and the wider team, being invited to Board meetings to convey updates first-hand, and being consulted on key strategic decisions. I’ve been pleased to see the flexibility offered to working mums, in extended maternity leave, hybrid working and flexibility of working days and hours.
One of my greatest challenges was changing my job title to become a designer. At my previous company, I started off as an admin, and design didn’t really exist as a role yet in the company. This company was also mostly male, where only 10% of the employees were women. The challenge was trying to bring design to the table.
I started to spend all my spare time learning about product design. I’m incredibly thankful that I had a very supportive manager who encouraged me to go to design conferences to further my growth and even organised a design thinking workshop with me without even being a designer herself. To prove the value of design, I applied everything I learned about UX/UI to tackle a variety of projects. Eventually, I was able change my role from admin to design, I most importantly, I helped and carve a solid place for design in the company.
I’m really thankful that I've had a lot of incredible people that I’ve worked with who have supported my growth and learning in becoming a better designer. At Equals, I feel like I always have a space to hone in on my skills or even learn something new.
We have a lot of talented women who are also great leaders. I think it’s amazing to work alongside them. I always feel like I can learn a lot from them, and they inspire me every single day.
Being a young woman in a position where I often need to challenge senior males in the business.
Completing CIPD L5 and commencing L7 and being able to buy my first home at 25.
My support has come from having a strong female role model and mentor in the business (Shona). She has believed in me from day one and often at times when I didn’t.
Being a woman, a foreigner and a mother sometimes complicates things a bit, but I have always believed that if you want, you can. You just have to work harder and learn that you can't be perfect - just try your best and enjoy along the way.
Handling both career and family.
Equals has been a ride! The best part is the constant challenge and opportunities this company offers and the people you get to work with. [I value] the flexibility and the equal treatment [here]. There is a place for all and each individual brings a huge value no matter where you came from.
I work in a team of men only but have not let that deter me from giving the best I could. I stand my ground and do just as much as the men around me do.
Progression to get to a position which I thoroughly enjoy and look forward to everyday without having to compromise my Islamic beliefs.
Having 3 children has been fantastic but also very hard to juggle with working full time. Trying to spend time with my family but also still wanting to give 110% to my job and wanting to be available for both my family and work has been really difficult. Luckily for me work have been fantastic and really supportive. I started off as a Team Manager, I’ve had 3 children and now head up Operations. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat.
I started out in finance on the phones cold calling. I now lead a fantastic team as Group Head of Operations for a company offering money management solutions for both retail and corporate customers. I’d say that was my greatest achievement.
I’ve always been encouraged to strive for more and apply for roles within the business. I’ve been on courses, I’ve been taken out of my comfort zone and I’ve learnt to deal with many situations that has given me the confidence to progress.
Being a woman in management positions can be challenging. I often had to become more assertive and somehow rude to make others respect me and listen to me, which was hard on my health as I was becoming someone I was not. I overcame that when I realised that you don't need to shout, be mean and show no emotions for others to hear you and respect you.
This one makes me think, as I believe I have had more than one achievement. Probably the biggest one was to learn how to share my thoughts clearly, to be who I am and not apologise for having emotions.
Throughout my career I have been supported by other amazing women. They showed me how to work with confidence and achieve greatness without needing to change who you are just because we are female.
I value my integrity, being seen as an equal to my male colleagues and knowing my opinion matters just as much as anyone else.
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