Women Who Lead
We’re delighted to introduce our new group, ‘Women Who Lead’ to shine a light on the exceptional women leaders throughout our member firms and across the MGI Worldwide network.
Women Who Lead
Lead – Inspire – Succeed
While women are well-represented across the accounting sector, there is still a gap at the leadership end. By celebrating the successes and talent of our female leaders, we hope to inspire positive change throughout our network and in the profession. We will ‘lead by example’ and explore opportunities to encourage and support the next generation of women and the future leaders of accounting.
Insights into the representation of women within the accounting industry
“Women Who Lead’ is represented by strong women from all regions around the world who are keen to get involved in this important topic. We recently held our first meeting where partners from the UK, Europe, Asia, Australasia, Africa, North America and Latin America shared their experiences as a female leader in a traditionally male-dominated industry:
“We’re a four-partner firm and I’m the first and only female partner. Our graduate intake at trainee level is about 50/50 though, so I feel that we are doing well, although it would be great to have another female join me at partner level.” Jane Lowden, F.W. Smith, Riches & Co. UK |
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Caisa Westin, Revideco, Sweden |
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Pallavi Gupta, Dinodia Consulting, India |
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Susan van der Valk, MGI Bass Gordon, South Africa |
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Sharon Gregor, Selden Fox, USA, |
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Karin Monchak, MGI Assurance Auditores Independentes S.S., Brazil |
“Our partners are appointed solely on their ability, half of our partners are women, so whether you are male, or female isn’t the issue at Revideco in Sweden. It’s interesting to see the difference in international organisations, although I can see a shift as there seem to be more women joining the industry and leadership internationally.”
“When I joined MGI Worldwide’s International Committee I was 29 years old, Asian and a woman and I remember thinking that no one was interested in what I had to say, but I realised that everybody has a voice and an opinion and if you are saying something with conviction, and it makes sense, then others will respect you for it.”
“I’m the only female partner within our practice. One of the issues that women face is that they perceive accounting as a male dominated industry. Women also struggle to find the balance between work and personal life, so we are interested in showing them that it can be done, and how.”
“Over the years I’ve taken many employees under my wing. There have been some really special females in that bunch. Sometimes these females have a lot of pressure from their own families. Not only are we dealing with the males in the profession, but we are also dealing with the spouses and significant others of those females. A lot of the time external pressures are the problem and the fact there are two wage earners in the family. It’s not just the males in the workplace.”
“When I started my career almost 30 years ago, finding women in leadership positions was very rare. There is still a lot to improve, but this initiative at MGI motivates us to continue to do a great job and contribute to an important legacy in our organisation.”We would be delighted if you could join our next call or attend the next event.
View Women Who Lead calls and events here.
