A female perspective – opening the discussion on workplace equality

Workplace equality is one of the key business challenges of the last 15 years with yet a long way to go. In this article we outline our approach to female participation, tackling the issue as one of Lucanet’s key strategic goals with a bottom-up network approach.

 

Introducing Women @Lucanet

Why do women only make up 24 % of leadership roles in the financial service sector? (Deloitte Insights) A simple question with a simple answer? 

That’s what we want to find out. We want to speak with people, not about them. By aiming for real representation, we have created the “Women @ Lucanet” network. A space where we encourage each other to share and learn from experiences, and where we exchange ideas on a regular basis. The format is open, and the topics derive from within the group. 

Originally, it was initiated to connect women in consulting, a usually very much male-dominated area, but it became a Lucanet-wide global initiative to discuss working at Lucanet from a female perspective. Our sessions derive from impulses inside the network. They range from working at Lucanet to relevant topics to learn more about such as female investment, hearing external speakers from our network. The main objective of each session is to share insights, followed by discussing these within the community.

 

Lucanet.Summer AllHands 

In June 2022, we hosted a workshop at our bi-annual AllHands events, where all employees of Lucanet Group come together, examining the topic “Empowerment through Communication and Appreciation”. One of our attendees, Aalia explains:

 

"The Women summit for me was one of the most influential and memorable workshops I’ve attended. I remember we divided ourselves into two groups and carried out two different activities. The first one was to write down ways in which we can actively help, and support women thrive in the workplace through communication and power and the other topic was on how to feel valued."

 

What did you take home with you?

 

"The most important thing I took home with me was the fact that it challenged me to open up in a safe space where I felt heard. It was the first time for me to be able to participate actively and share ideas loudly as it really spoke to me as a person and a woman."

 

What was new to you? 

 

"The whole experience was new to me, to be honest. To be in a place primarily aimed at women where there is so much female energy and a feeling of being understood. It made me realize that I would like to participate in similar workshops and be in similar places more often as it just felt empowering."

What’s next? 

Stories like Aalia’s show that we are on the right track with what we are doing. Providing a safer space, encouraging each other to share thoughts, and learning from our perspectives is how we thrive together. Our answer to closing the gender gap in leadership is participation. 

For the network’s future, our attendee Asmara, one of Lucanet’s Senior Consultants who was also part in founding the predecessor network, gives her vision of what she would like to see:

 

"We are strong women in our company, yet we face similar obstacles in our careers. For the future I wish to develop a network with role models and guidance for new female colleagues. Impulse workshops from experienced female leaders, trainings to improve self-presentation, and quick wit to strengthen our self-confidence need to be on the agenda."

 

The community of female Lucanet employees stimulates ideas that come from within the company and have a real impact on the people affected. In Q4 2022 for example, the Lucanet.Mentoring pilot program kicked off, which has since been implemented as an ongoing annual program. This was just one of the impulses we gathered from inside the network. Enabling future female leaders is one of our priorities within our D&I initiatives and we’re looking forward to further build on this.