International Women’s Day: What does it mean to you?

International Women’s Day (IWD) means something different to everyone. At Monahans, we believe that diversity and inclusion isn’t something just to be focused on for one day of the year, but we also recognise that 8 March presents us with a great opportunity to look back, reflect, and evaluate where we can improve in areas such as gender equality.

We spoke to key team members Anita Evans, Kathryn Akers, Kim Baden, Katy Jenkins and Nicola Maggs, to compile their experiences as a female in the field of accountancy and to find out what IWD means to them.

What does IWD’s theme of ‘inspiring inclusion’ mean to you?

Seeing people like me
“It’s important that I am part of a workforce which includes people like me,” says Kim. All agree it is crucial that women are represented at all levels of the organisation, from the most junior all the way to senior leadership. But the team also pointed out that inclusion isn’t just relevant to the workplace, there is also value in seeing women from peer groups holding senior leadership positions, too. “CEOs are still predominantly male,” adds Kim. “So, it would be brilliant to see a shift to more women in leadership roles in society in general.”

Diversity of thought
Nicola highlights how important it is to have a cross section of people involved in any discussion because of the value that they will bring. “If everyone in a team comes from a similar background, they are likely to have a similar viewpoint. Whereas if you have different people, you're going to have a broader range of attitudes and opinions which will benefit whatever task is at hand.” Kathryn describes it as ensuring that you are not in an “echo chamber where you're just hearing the same things from the same type of person.”

Indeed, studies have shown that businesses with diverse backgrounds are the most successful and that diversity of thought leads to improved decision-making, increased innovation, and better problem solving. Having a diverse range of ideas and lived experiences can also help to ensure that people are able to challenge behaviours that might be seen as detrimental to inclusion adds Kim.

Promote what you do and what you’re good at
Anita also highlights that inclusion is about feeling comfortable in “unashamedly promoting that you are good at what you do, rather than shying away from it.” She continues, “This also means demonstrating that you are just as good as your male colleagues.” And everyone agrees: the more that people feel comfortable in sharing their work, the more that others will follow suit.

Have you faced any challenges in your career as a female that you have had to overcome?

The taboo around part time work
The team universally acknowledged that in the past, working part-time because of life circumstances often had disapproval attached to it. “When I first started working part-time due to having children to look after, I felt that I was judged negatively by some,” says Kathryn. Kim echoes this, describing how in previous firms that were more sales and male orientated, there were often comments made about her part-time hours. “There was a sense that I wasn’t equal to my full-time male colleagues because I didn’t work the 60-hour week that they were able to.”

“In the past there has also often been an expectation that as a part-time worker your perception should be the same as a full-time equivalent,” adds Katy. She highlights how challenging this can be to manage, often leading to overwork and burnout.

Nicola notes how these outdated perceptions have improved as increasing numbers of female workers have entered the workforce. “When I first started my career, I don’t think any of my colleagues worked part-time or had children, but now we have a wide range of part- time team members,” says Nicola. Everyone agreed that as female representation has improved, part-time work has been more normalised and accepted.

What do you think makes a business more appealing to female candidates or employees?

Work life balance
The offer of flexible working hours was a clear motivating factor for all the team members.

As pointed out by Kathryn, there are a range of reasons as to why having flexibility as part of a company’s ethos might be important: “Of course, having young children is the most common reason but there may be other personal circumstances at play such as looking after elderly parents, or having regular doctor's appointments due to health issues. Firms that offer flexibility benefit all workers, not just women.”

“However, workplace wellbeing isn’t just about flexible working hours,” notes Anita “It also includes the culture and ethos that that the company offers you and whether that fits within your lifestyle.”

Work from home polices
Nicola notes how the emergence of working from home has helped those who may have dependents at home, allowing them to continue working whilst supervising a poorly child for example. “I believe that the wider working environment has changed to better support women. [For instance] policies around working remotely or part time when returning from maternity leave have helped significantly.” The group agrees that the pandemic forced many companies to re-evaluate their polices and consider alternative styles of working, which has been positive for all workers, but particularly women.

Smarter not harder
“I believe that firms who have been able to move away from the perception that if somebody works longer hours, they are more hard working, have been more successful at hiring more women,” says Kim. “The fact that we are unable to do a 40-hour week shouldn’t reflect on how loyal we are to a business, our careers, or how much value we add.” Firms need to ensure that they are not subconsciously rewarding those who are working full-time or in the office and instead recognise that people add value in different ways.

What can the accountancy sector do to ensure that they are appealing to female professionals?

Tackling misconceptions
“It’s important to spread the message at a school level that you don't have to be ‘good at maths’ to be an accountant or a Bookkeeper,” says Nicola. She notes that other skills are far more important to the role – skills that women often have in in abundance, such as a strong attention to detail and being methodical, a strong communicator, and being good at building relationships with people.

Breaking away from stereotypes
“It's about breaking away from that ‘stuffy men in suits’ vision that everybody has of accountants,” Anita adds. She also notes that it works both ways and that it’s also important to show gender diversity in roles that are traditionally perceived as female orientated roles such as administration.

Representation = diversity
Katy notes how powerful raising awareness of women in higher positions can be in inspiring others to follow in their footsteps, and the impact it can have on their confidence in aiming high. Kim adds how crucial it is that young people see careerists who are also mothers. “I think that there is a perception that you can’t be both a working mum and career hungry, when actually it is proved time and time again that this is not the case.”

What do you enjoy the most about your role?

Anita Evans, Business Administrations Manager: “Jobs where I can be empathetic, use my intuition and provide support and care have always appealed to me. I have a background in the NHS and have always found it really rewarding to be in a position where I can help others. Which is why I enjoy my current role, because it allows me to help others in achieving their goals. I look after them so they can look after their job, which is really motivational.

Katy Jenkins, Assistant Client Portfolio Manager: “Personally, I really enjoy getting stuck into the analytical side of the job but also the social aspect. Interacting and building relationships with clients, is a crucial part of my work, but it is also what makes it so enjoyable. Working closely with a wide variety of clients operating in completely different fields also keeps the job really interesting and no two days are the same.

Kathryn Akers, Assistant Personal Tax Manager: “It’s fantastic to be in a role that I not only feel confident in but also gives me the opportunity to work alongside a range of brilliant clients and colleagues. I’ve realised over my 20-year career that I really value being part of a friendly supportive workplace. My favourite part of the role is to use my knowledge to provide support and reassurance to people who may be facing a stressful time and take a bit of the weight off their shoulders.”

Kim Baden, HR Advisor: “Like Anita I also have a background in the NHS, and what really attracted me to HR is the ability to help others succeed in their career plans and make the working environment fit for purpose and current. Oftentimes I might be speaking with people who are at their lowest point either at work or at home (one tips over to the other) and it is important to me that I can resolve their issue within my remit to improve their working day. Whether that be due to a pay query, workload pressure or employee relation dispute and being able to help that person to unpick those problems and reach a resolution is hugely rewarding. I’m really motivated by the prospect of helping somebody to have a better day.”

Nicola Maggs, Assistant Manager, Bookkeeping: “I have been lucky enough to experience a sense of equality all the way through my career at Monahans, and really enjoy working in a team of people where we can bounce ideas off one another and work collaboratively to problem solve. On top of being social and varied, I also really enjoy how methodical the role is. I often compare it to knitting or weaving, where you are bringing lots of different elements together, to achieve a balanced, successful end result, which is extremely satisfying.”

If you are interested in joining our varied and inclusive team, get in touch today, we would love to hear from you.

Sophie Austin