Important Reflection on Female Careers, means Launching the ‘Caxton Career Collective'

Last month was International Women’s Month, and I was fortunate enough to have a great network of accomplished women to connect with. I also had the privilege of speaking with new networks, sharing wisdom and personal experiences across a mix of generations.  

There were a few poignant moments which I’ll share that has led to where we are today on the cusp of launching our own initiative! 

Firstly, I joined Caxton 10 months ago, I’m a very career focussed woman, and also mother to a 5-year-old daughter, so a lot to consider when making a move. A part of my decision to join Caxton was fuelled by a Senior Leadership team that was an accomplished blend of male and female talent. Also, the diversity and inclusion that was so present throughout the organisation without it even being a consideration but purely organic. Instantly I felt we needed to share the culture and promote the approach in a traditionally very male dominated space, Financial Services and Technology!  

Secondly, I’m a big advocate of continuous learning and I believe that curiosity to understand more, improve and develop is never ending. I’ve invested in myself over the years, and I was keen to find a formal network or association where I could not just learn but also give back. My career is littered with mostly women who inspired and supported my career journey but that’s not always the case for others.  

Whilst researching for networks towards the tail end of last year I looked at the all-female membership organisations on offer. Without question they look and sound impressive and have many globally renowned female speakers and glamorous meeting spaces. This comes at a price tag which is out of reach for many self-funding working women.  

What has happened since, is the creation of something that I feel meets the void for new generations of practical smart women. Chats with my D&I expert BFF Jo Major revealed that closed networks with high price tags didn’t seem like the best place to try and find a mixed network of women looking to support one another on their career journeys.  

A further conversation with our genius Director of People, Jane-Emma, who understood and appreciated my interest in building relationships and supporting other careers, suggested we think about how we could build something ourselves! SOOO, over the last 4 months we have started to realise that ambition and come across a lot of women wanting to be involved.  

Caxton partnered with Beyond(infinitSpace) (our office community) to hold a lunch session on International Women’s Day where I along with my peers, Jane-Emma Peerless and Katyusca Barth, shared our lived experiences of being ambitious women focussed on building our careers, sharing the challenges we faced but also the inspiring female and male allies we had encountered.  

It was great to be able to share in front of our more junior colleagues who are equally ambitious at the early stages of their journeys and for them to understand what it takes to do what we’ve done. We had the opportunity to speak about confidence, self-belief, positive mindsets, overcoming adversity and giving them the chance to see that it’s not just one type of person that can succeed, varied backgrounds, countries of origin, levels of education (my case A-levels only), upbringings and so on... 

Later the same day, I spoke at an event hosted by Making Moves by Wiser, where I had the chance to share my personal story to an even larger group of women mainly from the world of Tech. And this time, I shared the stage with the exceptional and professional speaker Desirèe Henry, a female Olympian who had a great story to share – I won’t pretend it wasn’t an intimidating to go on after her! Especially as she looked a million dollars in her beautiful red suit. 

But I am very glad that I did, because being in that room with so many inspiring women reinforced to me why I am doing this. I was thoroughly humbled by the response and relationships I’ve built since. As a woman who has managed many challenges and transitions in her career, moving from one industry to another several times, as a woman in tech, as a mother and as a woman in the C-suite, I realise more and more every day how important it is to share that experience by being authentically myself, in case younger women see someone like themselves, who has achieved what they are hoping to achieve.  

Last month, I spoke about the lack of women in senior leadership roles in tech in my article Why are we innovating? Technology has the power to bring females and payroll to the forefront, and particularly fintech. It is sad and frankly embarrassing currently to see how few women there are at level in an industry that bills itself as being forward looking and innovative. I still think – if it’s the same people doing different things, can that really be called innovation? And how do they know what they’re missing, when they’re missing the perspectives of most of the population – with a lack of women, and people of colour, and people who come from different backgrounds you only represent a portion of the population.  

It’s also a self-perpetuating problem since a lack of representation at a senior level means that fewer people will be empowered to themselves go for those positions. If you’ve not seen anyone do what you’re reaching for, it becomes a lot harder. That’s why I’m seeing the value, more and more, in creating a space for all women to share their stories, experiences and expertise, and creating a safe environment where we can inspire and say what we need to say without judgement. Navigating together to hopefully speed the process for those at the start of their journeys.   

Only this week I had a conversation with a male SNR AE from a Tech software company say I’m the ONLY FEMALE CRO he has come across, and that in his career every superstar high achiever he has worked alongside has been female, yet when it gets to the top, they nowhere to be seen! He referenced a colleague who I instantly encouraged to connect with me. And so, here we are, having built multiple relationships since my speaking engagements, including some powerful, successful women equally willing to want to support others.  

One of my key priorities in life is building relationships, I like people. It’s what’s brought me to where I am today and has really been a keystone of my career. There have been amazing women who have helped me along in my career, and I want to do the same thing for others. And particularly in tech – the products and services we work with are built on a network, so the importance of creating that network for ourselves should be immediately obvious. 

That’s why we are launching the Caxton Career Collective on the 23rd of May, for ambitious women and male allies who want to understand way’s they can support this mission, who want to share their knowledge and learn more from those who came before them. We’re hosting fireside chats on an invite only basis, but before that, comment here or DM me to receive an invite to the group for discussions on what it takes to be a woman with ambition and integrity in a modern business. Hope to see you there!