When bravery, red lines and wearing tights come into a conversation, you know you are in for a lively debate on the world of women in financial services marketing communications! At our latest event with Financial Narrative, we celebrated International Women’s Day and heard the brilliant career journeys of Kirsty Howl (Marketing Director at NatWest),  Melanie Hesketh (Senior Director Global Communications at FIS) and Kate Woodyatt Hudson (Agency Founder and MD at WH Communications Ltd).

While many stories were shared, the secrets of their collective success were:

Be your own champion

As Melanie said, “Your work doesn’t speak for itself. You need to find opportunities where you can share what you are doing so that others hear it!” But how you do that will be different for everyone. For some, it’s about diving into the data and showing progress; for others, it’s about finding a passion project and making it happen; for many, it will be about highlighting the success and progress of their team.

Name your heroes

We have all heard the saying, “it takes a village”, and these women made it clear that support comes from many places – whether that is male allies, mentors, coaches or sponsors. Beyond formal support, their advice was to think about the people you turn to at different stages of your career and life journey – those who support you, those who challenge you and those with specific expertise. Naming them, if only to yourself, as your unofficial mentors help you recognise your personal power base.

Nurture your network

It almost goes without saying at a community network event, all of our speakers highlighted how connections made at different points in their careers have been the ones who have come back around for them in their times of need. As Kirsty said, “some I might speak to all the time, others every five years” but taking the time to connect, to ask for and offer help, makes all the difference in the long term

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