In celebration of today being International Women’s Day, her long career in financial services has meant that Nataline Terry, Head of UK and Ireland at asset manager, T.Rowe Price, has seen quite a few changes over the years.
In this blog, Nat shares some of her own career experiences with IFA Magazine and also reveals how and why TRP is working hard to boost D&I and support everyone in their team not just in their career but also in leading happy and fulfilled lives.
“If I look back, the environment in financial services is much more supportive today than it was when I joined the industry over 25 years ago. Now, there is help with important things like career planning, carer support, flexible working, sponsorship, coaching circles which were pretty much non-existent back then. This has all come following a broad acceptance of how difficult a busy work life can be for women in particular -but people of all genders – to thrive in a fast-paced career whilst balancing the other responsibilities in life too.
“I think that there has also been a shift in how women help women at work. In the past, it could have felt like a competition but now there is more of an emphasis on leaning-in and helping other women. At T.Rowe Price, I am very involved in our ‘Women in Sales’ initiative and our Coaching Circles are a great source of support and development for associates too.
“I’ve learned how important it is that we challenge systems, policies, and processes that are barriers to inclusion. We all need to consider the needs of those individuals who we mentor, sponsor, and advocate for others. It is important that we realise we can all use our voices and actions to create better opportunities for all and we can all succeed by working together.
Boosting diversity and inclusion benefits us all
“Corporate culture, regulatory and clients’ expectations have evolved to place greater emphasis on diversity of thought in financial services businesses. There is a lot of research which shows that more diverse communities and organisations are stronger, richer, and more sustainable as a result of that diversity.
“Public sentiment, evolving corporate culture and clients’ expectations mean it is very important for those of us in financial services to demonstrate and create opportunity for all. We all have an increasing number of female clients and there is a role we can play in supporting their careers too.
“An example of this at TRP is that we have events such as ‘Consultant Connections’, which is a networking event for female consultants. There’s also ‘Leading the Way’ which is an informal, lunchtime, virtual event focusing on supporting everyone in their careers as well as wider aspects of life.”
Career decisions begin early on
“As the Financial Services industry has been historically male dominated, it’s clear that this may act as a disincentive for women to build a career with us when making early decisions about what courses to choose and which industries to apply to. Demonstrating that we are inclusive in how we
work helps to combat that perception and to show that women can have highly successful, fulfilling and meaningful careers within our industry. This will ultimately help firms to attract and retain talented team members of all genders – to get the ‘best in class’. We are proud to have recently developed a new ‘Aspire’ programme , a new leadership development strategy for mid-senior level women to enhance their leadership exposure, capability and impact across the business. TRP is also investing in the development of future female fund managers through our participation in the Diversity Project Pathway Program, for which we recently ran a session just last week, to teach participants data management and modelling skills.”
Workplace flexibility benefits everyone
“In my view, it is really important there is workplace flexibility for everyone. I believe that flexibility should be about enabling every individual to thrive, regardless of gender. For example, looking at my own situation, because my husband is able to work flexibly we can make it work for our family. It doesn’t all fall on my shoulders or all on his.
“At T. Rowe Price we have great emergency childcare support, enhanced parental leave policies and support with wellbeing through wellness days and a mindfulness app which helps individuals balance work and family responsibilities. These are tremendously helpful for busy families who appreciate the support available.”
Why a sound D&I strategy underpins business success
“Here at TRP, I’m pleased to share that we’ve got great ‘Women In’ programs (Sales, Investment and Technology) which are designed to help us to attract and develop female talent. I am heavily involved in the ‘Women in Sales’ initiative. We have recently launched our ‘Aspire’ program and are involved in the ‘Diversity Project Pathway’ Program. We have a long history of strengthening engagement with women in the workplace through WAVE (Women Advocating for Voice and Equality), our associate-led women’s business resource group. Further, T. Rowe Price is part of the Moving Ahead, LGBT Great, and UpReach mentoring schemes, which give cross-industry support to diverse associates and undergraduates to access and progress their careers. T. Rowe Price is broadening its diverse talent reach through partnerships with specialist job boards, expanding career break transition support, and early talent acquisition strategies. As you can see, there’s a lot going on and I’m sure that the business will continue to reap the rewards of this long into the future. ”
Mind the gap?
“Of course, we can’t avoid the fact that the gender gap still exists in financial service. I guess we have to be realistic and remind ourselves that significant and fundamental change towards closing it takes time. But, it is important to keep investing in and developing people as part of this. We are a firm focussed on long-term growth which applies as much to our people as our business strategies.
“I hope that by sharing just some of the initiatives underway here and giving IFA Magazine some insight into how seriously TRP takes this matter, it’ll inspire others to consider what they do and how they do it. If that happens even on a tiny scale this International Women’s Day, then that’s a great result!”
