Reshaping the industry
16 Oct 2024
Nicola Le Brocq shares her thoughts with Clelia Frondaroli on the barriers that women encounter in the alternatives sector and how the industry has evolved for the better
Image: Jersey Finance
Gender equality remains a major concern for the financial services industry; a challenge the alternatives industry is not exempt from. Despite the roles women actively play in reshaping and redefining the workplace, issues surrounding wage gaps, selection bias and office culture continue to highlight a clear and startling gender disparity. Jersey Finance’s Nicola Le Brocq, Director for Funds and Corporate, seeks to address some of these challenges, and ultimately explores the question of how significant the issue of gender equality and bias is in the alternative funds space.
A bird’s eye view
“Only 6 per cent of CEOs in the world are women.”
Le Brocq initiates the conversation surrounding gender equality in the alternatives industry with a smile and a sobering statistic, utilising Deloitte’s ‘Women in the Boardroom’ study to confront the issue first from a global perspective. She emphasises: “[That number] only actually increased one per cent from last year. If it carries on at this rate, it won’t be until 2111 that we will reach gender parity.”
Numerous studies paint a similar story. A report by World Bank in 2023 finds that only 29 per cent of leadership roles in finance have been undertaken by women and that 80 per cent of UK employers are, on average, paying men more than women. Understanding these imbalances in the workplace, Le Brocq makes the situation clear: “These statistics really do highlight that there is a significant issue with equality.”
However, she is quick to offer some respite to what appears to be an increasingly gloomy state of affairs for gender equality. She explains: “If you drill down into specific industries, it’s a little bit more interesting and also uplifting. For example, the financial services industry is beginning to make huge progress. [According to Deloitte] the financial services industry ranks between first or second in terms of being the most gender diverse, with a huge leap in the number of women who are reaching the C-suite.”
This marks clear signs of progress being made in the alternatives sector, especially one in which only 25 per cent of people employed are women.
This too, is a number Le Brocq maintains has changed for the better: “Pre-pandemic, it was maybe 20 per cent and in certain areas of private markets, like hedge funds or private debt, there’s been a real uptick in numbers. So there’s been an incremental increase year on year.”
Fostering flexibility
However, there remain significant hurdles to surpass when it comes to taking the next steps in achieving equality. Among these, some of the major obstacles that women face, Le Brocq addresses, are a lack of understanding, flexibility and support from employers.
She highlights: “Women typically will prioritise their personal lives more. [They] might work to a certain point, and then they’ll drop out of the workplace, and that’s either to have children or maybe because they just feel they’re not being supported.”
While acknowledging the pandemic has played a pivotal part in ‘shifting the dial’ towards a greater understanding of the roles women take on outside the workplace, Le Brocq explains that situations such as requests for reduced hours, whether for familial or personal reasons, still have a detrimental impact on many women’s careers.
So, what can firms do to ensure the industry is more accessible for women?
“[It is about having a] greater sort of empathy and appreciating that everybody’s situation is different and everyone’s situation is individual,” Le Brocq suggests empathetically. “Employers who recognise that and allow for more flexibility to alleviate blockers are going to be more attractive to employees.”
She further stresses: “Being present and being productive are not necessarily the same.” Employers should be more understanding, and accommodating, to circumstances in which employees may not be able to remain in an office environment beyond a set 9 to 5.
This understanding, Le Brocq believes, also needs to be extended into the realm of networking, which she describes as ‘everything’ for a successful career in alternatives and financial services.
“It’s difficult to network in financial services and the alternatives industry. You know, you are a minority, and so it’s not easy to get out there. The industry can do more and be more understanding of networking events and making them not outside of work hours.”
At Jersey Finance, the firm has decided to take a different approach to networking, with the creation of an initiative to connect women in alternatives from Jersey to those in London. Through a host of round table talks, referral schemes, and networking events, Le Brocq paints a warm and inviting atmosphere in which these events provide not only an opportunity for women to connect, “but to progress collectively”.
Thinking laterally
Greater gender diversity brings a host of benefits to firms themselves. When questioned on what inclusivity in the workplace can do for the industry, Le Brocq sustains: “Gender-balanced companies will have a much more holistic approach, they can incorporate more perspectives into their thinking, strategy, and product. A firm would probably think more laterally as well.”
With global shifts in women becoming more financially independent and the rise of women with higher net-worth, traditional client bases have also transformed in the way in which they look and operate. This, Le Brocq emphasises, is what firms need to tap into: “If [the] workplace is more balanced, then [firms are] going to be better equipped to service a more gender-balanced clientele.”
And what may be the strongest incentive for firms to consciously employ more women in the industry?
Le Brocq offers a powerful and rallying statement: “Investors are leading the way.”
Delving into Preqin’s 2024 report on women alternatives, she continues: “One of the strongest incentives for alternative investment funds to employ more women is actually the uptrend in their clients doing exactly that. Female investors are on the rise, and having more say in regards to what type of companies and structures they want their portfolios invested within, which is driving managers to adapt”.
In turn, she emphasises, “that’s also shaping businesses”.
From entry-level to CEO
So, what can the alternative funds industry do to encourage more women into entry-level roles?
Calling back to her earlier comments regarding a higher percentage of women reaching C-suite level, she describes a need for that pipeline (from entry level to senior positions) to be sustainable. At the moment, she ponders, “it is not really that steady”.
“You’ve got fewer women who are represented at lower senior positions, middle-management or senior director level, [and] the next gen roles [are] definitely showing a slower growth rate.”
It is especially important then, she underscores, to encourage young women into entry level roles, “so we get that continuity of women that start in financial services alternatives”.
To do this, Le Brocq proposes a series of schemes that firms should, and have, implemented to drive better inclusion in the industry. This includes having a greater presence in career fairs at both secondary and university level education, which “is all about encouraging women to get involved and understand the industry better” — and is something her own firm, Jersey Finance, has carried out across schools locally in Jersey.
She further highlights how mentorship programmes are an effective tool in providing “young professionals with a visible role model to look up to”.
Reflecting on how the industry has changed since she began her career, she speaks positively on the working environment she now finds herself in: “There’s so much more openness now within the workplace. As a young woman in my 20s, there were certain things that I would not necessarily want to discuss with my employer.
“But, you know, the times have moved on, and I think that it’s definitely changed for the better.”
The view from the top
As the conversation surrounding gender equality begins to wrap up, Le Brocq recounts a piece of advice that she hopes to impart onto future industry leaders: “If you can’t see it, you can’t be it”.
She explains: “[It] works both ways, from being visible within your organisation, but also having those mentors to look up to and champion you. To be able to see what you could step into is hugely powerful.”
Le Brocq further speaks candidly about imposter syndrome, something that continues to affect even the most experienced women in the industry. She reinforces: “Whatever sort of industry or career you choose, just believe that you deserve to be there.”
And her parting piece of advice?
“Just be kind.”
With these words, she wants women in alternatives to understand that femininity or kindness in the workplace is not a weakness. Rather, it has the potential to inspire and champion other women to continue their career in financial services.
“In the past, women felt that they had to be in their masculine energy to kind of climb the corporate ladder,” she recounts. “I think that’s a bit of a shame [that] the conditioning is still there for some of us. It’s very different now, which is great.”
Le Brocq concludes with some final remarks: “There isn’t one size fits all to achieve gender equality, but firms that advance and really prioritise their gender equality can certainly position themselves to influence and reshape the industry.”
In understanding this, it is clear to see that the industry has changed, and only for the better.
A bird’s eye view
“Only 6 per cent of CEOs in the world are women.”
Le Brocq initiates the conversation surrounding gender equality in the alternatives industry with a smile and a sobering statistic, utilising Deloitte’s ‘Women in the Boardroom’ study to confront the issue first from a global perspective. She emphasises: “[That number] only actually increased one per cent from last year. If it carries on at this rate, it won’t be until 2111 that we will reach gender parity.”
Numerous studies paint a similar story. A report by World Bank in 2023 finds that only 29 per cent of leadership roles in finance have been undertaken by women and that 80 per cent of UK employers are, on average, paying men more than women. Understanding these imbalances in the workplace, Le Brocq makes the situation clear: “These statistics really do highlight that there is a significant issue with equality.”
However, she is quick to offer some respite to what appears to be an increasingly gloomy state of affairs for gender equality. She explains: “If you drill down into specific industries, it’s a little bit more interesting and also uplifting. For example, the financial services industry is beginning to make huge progress. [According to Deloitte] the financial services industry ranks between first or second in terms of being the most gender diverse, with a huge leap in the number of women who are reaching the C-suite.”
This marks clear signs of progress being made in the alternatives sector, especially one in which only 25 per cent of people employed are women.
This too, is a number Le Brocq maintains has changed for the better: “Pre-pandemic, it was maybe 20 per cent and in certain areas of private markets, like hedge funds or private debt, there’s been a real uptick in numbers. So there’s been an incremental increase year on year.”
Fostering flexibility
However, there remain significant hurdles to surpass when it comes to taking the next steps in achieving equality. Among these, some of the major obstacles that women face, Le Brocq addresses, are a lack of understanding, flexibility and support from employers.
She highlights: “Women typically will prioritise their personal lives more. [They] might work to a certain point, and then they’ll drop out of the workplace, and that’s either to have children or maybe because they just feel they’re not being supported.”
While acknowledging the pandemic has played a pivotal part in ‘shifting the dial’ towards a greater understanding of the roles women take on outside the workplace, Le Brocq explains that situations such as requests for reduced hours, whether for familial or personal reasons, still have a detrimental impact on many women’s careers.
So, what can firms do to ensure the industry is more accessible for women?
“[It is about having a] greater sort of empathy and appreciating that everybody’s situation is different and everyone’s situation is individual,” Le Brocq suggests empathetically. “Employers who recognise that and allow for more flexibility to alleviate blockers are going to be more attractive to employees.”
She further stresses: “Being present and being productive are not necessarily the same.” Employers should be more understanding, and accommodating, to circumstances in which employees may not be able to remain in an office environment beyond a set 9 to 5.
This understanding, Le Brocq believes, also needs to be extended into the realm of networking, which she describes as ‘everything’ for a successful career in alternatives and financial services.
“It’s difficult to network in financial services and the alternatives industry. You know, you are a minority, and so it’s not easy to get out there. The industry can do more and be more understanding of networking events and making them not outside of work hours.”
At Jersey Finance, the firm has decided to take a different approach to networking, with the creation of an initiative to connect women in alternatives from Jersey to those in London. Through a host of round table talks, referral schemes, and networking events, Le Brocq paints a warm and inviting atmosphere in which these events provide not only an opportunity for women to connect, “but to progress collectively”.
Thinking laterally
Greater gender diversity brings a host of benefits to firms themselves. When questioned on what inclusivity in the workplace can do for the industry, Le Brocq sustains: “Gender-balanced companies will have a much more holistic approach, they can incorporate more perspectives into their thinking, strategy, and product. A firm would probably think more laterally as well.”
With global shifts in women becoming more financially independent and the rise of women with higher net-worth, traditional client bases have also transformed in the way in which they look and operate. This, Le Brocq emphasises, is what firms need to tap into: “If [the] workplace is more balanced, then [firms are] going to be better equipped to service a more gender-balanced clientele.”
And what may be the strongest incentive for firms to consciously employ more women in the industry?
Le Brocq offers a powerful and rallying statement: “Investors are leading the way.”
Delving into Preqin’s 2024 report on women alternatives, she continues: “One of the strongest incentives for alternative investment funds to employ more women is actually the uptrend in their clients doing exactly that. Female investors are on the rise, and having more say in regards to what type of companies and structures they want their portfolios invested within, which is driving managers to adapt”.
In turn, she emphasises, “that’s also shaping businesses”.
From entry-level to CEO
So, what can the alternative funds industry do to encourage more women into entry-level roles?
Calling back to her earlier comments regarding a higher percentage of women reaching C-suite level, she describes a need for that pipeline (from entry level to senior positions) to be sustainable. At the moment, she ponders, “it is not really that steady”.
“You’ve got fewer women who are represented at lower senior positions, middle-management or senior director level, [and] the next gen roles [are] definitely showing a slower growth rate.”
It is especially important then, she underscores, to encourage young women into entry level roles, “so we get that continuity of women that start in financial services alternatives”.
To do this, Le Brocq proposes a series of schemes that firms should, and have, implemented to drive better inclusion in the industry. This includes having a greater presence in career fairs at both secondary and university level education, which “is all about encouraging women to get involved and understand the industry better” — and is something her own firm, Jersey Finance, has carried out across schools locally in Jersey.
She further highlights how mentorship programmes are an effective tool in providing “young professionals with a visible role model to look up to”.
Reflecting on how the industry has changed since she began her career, she speaks positively on the working environment she now finds herself in: “There’s so much more openness now within the workplace. As a young woman in my 20s, there were certain things that I would not necessarily want to discuss with my employer.
“But, you know, the times have moved on, and I think that it’s definitely changed for the better.”
The view from the top
As the conversation surrounding gender equality begins to wrap up, Le Brocq recounts a piece of advice that she hopes to impart onto future industry leaders: “If you can’t see it, you can’t be it”.
She explains: “[It] works both ways, from being visible within your organisation, but also having those mentors to look up to and champion you. To be able to see what you could step into is hugely powerful.”
Le Brocq further speaks candidly about imposter syndrome, something that continues to affect even the most experienced women in the industry. She reinforces: “Whatever sort of industry or career you choose, just believe that you deserve to be there.”
And her parting piece of advice?
“Just be kind.”
With these words, she wants women in alternatives to understand that femininity or kindness in the workplace is not a weakness. Rather, it has the potential to inspire and champion other women to continue their career in financial services.
“In the past, women felt that they had to be in their masculine energy to kind of climb the corporate ladder,” she recounts. “I think that’s a bit of a shame [that] the conditioning is still there for some of us. It’s very different now, which is great.”
Le Brocq concludes with some final remarks: “There isn’t one size fits all to achieve gender equality, but firms that advance and really prioritise their gender equality can certainly position themselves to influence and reshape the industry.”
In understanding this, it is clear to see that the industry has changed, and only for the better.
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