Life as a woman in a male-dominated industry

There are so many different types of people in this world, and behind the exterior there is someone fighting their own battle and overcoming personal challenges. This is a series looking at the strong girls and women in my life.

I saw something the other day that said, ‘I spoke this morning and my mum came out,’—the older I get, the more I can completely relate to this. My mum has been my role model and supporter since day one: she taught me right and wrong; she showed me how to stand up for myself and to stand by what I believe in. She fills my life with positivity and that is something I am grateful to bring with me each day. She is now not only my mum, but my best friend.

I am at an age now where I feel established as a person, which allows me to reflect and understand that so much of this comes from my roots and upbringing. I bring this into the workplace, not only through my personality, but also by looking at my mum starting her own finance company before I was born to allow her to progress in her career the way a woman should be able to do—but importantly the way she wanted to—while also having the flexibility to raise me the way she wanted.

As the owner of a very successful finance company, her experience as a woman in this male-heavy industry is inspiring. ‘I remember when I entered the corporate finance world, over 25 years ago, an older and very successful woman gave me some advice: work like a dog and think like a man. I took great exception to this as I had no intention of being someone I wasn’t!’ Hearing this, it made me think of something I’d never really thought about before: women love to see successful women in the work place and hearing their advice is even better—it helps us get there too. However, we must be cautious, especially as young women start their career, it is easy to be swept up in the way your mentors do things. Everyone does things in a different way; so listen and learn, but always stay true to yourself. As my mum says: ‘Work hard, treasure the connections you make along the way, and never be afraid to ask for help.’

With gender inequality regularly making the news and constituting a common topic for discussion in the workplace, I wanted to see how my mum tackled this in her industry. Recently she attended a conference where there were less than 10 women in a room of 100 people: ‘Personally, I refuse to acknowledge the inequality. I just get on with the job.’ I think to young women, this is key advice, and I hope there are mentors with similar mentalities paving the way for our future female leaders. Change is happening and women have a louder voice every day.

I feel I am who I am by following the path and guidance of my mum—I am very lucky and proud of who I am today, and I feel honoured to have learned and still be able to learn from the best mentor there is.

‘Always be yourself and never be afraid to speak up. Never feel inferior to anyone, and never feel superior either. It’s nice to be nice, and it will get you quite far!’

Carole Roe is a woman making waves and you can read her full interview here.