Today is International Women’s Day (IWD)! As such, Alison Radley, Co-Head of Retail Investments at Octopus Investments, shares her thoughts on the gender imbalance in finance and highlights why women still face barriers during hiring and investment decisions.
Alison Radley, Co-Head of Retail Investments at Octopus Investments, said:
“I think there’s still a way to go when it comes to women in finance. The way I see it, we’re in a vicious cycle. Those in positions of power hiring for similar positions, often hire people like themselves, whether that’s gender or similar backgrounds. The same is true for investors, who tend to invest their money into new businesses where the founders are from within their own networks.
“We have to break this cycle if we want to see real progress. We have to close the gap from a full equity perspective. Increasing the number of female leaders is the first step. From there, we have to be better at understanding what it’s like to be a female founder, or what is required by a female business owner to succeed and change our mindsets from what we learn. We have to encourage the flow of money into the system in an equitable way that drives the best returns for everyone involved.”
Alison Radley
Alison is Co-Head of Retail Investments, responsible for creating, owning and delivering Octopus Investment’s business strategy and managing several key business functions, including: Strategy, Change and Transformation; Marketing; Communications; and Retail Investment Products. Alison joined in 2021 following various senior roles at NatWest Group, including Head of Strategy & Delivery for Esme Loans, the digital SME lender for NatWest Bank and VP for Structured Finance.
