INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY 2024 - PAM WELFORD OF BOLTON AT HOME
Pam Welford
What inspired you to pursue a career in Finance, and how did you navigate your way to becoming a Finance Director?
I didn’t initially plan on pursuing a career in Finance. I did a degree in Maths and Management Science and applied for general management graduate training schemes on the “milk round”. I had an interview with the HR Manager at Cadbury Schweppes and she asked if I had thought about training to be an accountant in industry. I hadn’t but I was offered a graduate position in finance. I then had day release for the next three years and took every opportunity I could to develop and when there was nowhere to go within an organisation, I looked for progression in other organisations, working across a range of sectors. I found the social housing sector around 20 years ago and after joining as a Financial Controller. A few years later I moved to a director level position within the organisation.
In male-dominated industries like Finance, what challenges have you faced as a woman, and how did you overcome them?
Having worked in the social housing sector for the last twenty years I would say the opposite is true, as woman are very well represented across the sector. I don’t dwell too much on gender, it’s more about the person. That said I have worked in one organisation in the past where the “old boy network” was alive and well. To be honest, it wasn’t going to change overnight so I took the opportunity when on maternity leave of looking for a role in another organisation. My biggest challenge was when I had a female boss in another organisation who clearly preferred working with men and made my life very difficult. Queen Bee syndrome I think it’s called. I did have a conversation with her about how she made me feel and shortly afterwards my reporting line was changed! Ultimately, I left for progression elsewhere.
As a Finance Director, what strategies do you employ to promote gender diversity and inclusion within your team or organisation?
I think flexible and agile working can be really helpful with this. I also have 121s with all my team members regularly so I can understand what motivates them and what we need to do to be an inclusive finance team. I am careful not to discriminate inadvertently by holding meetings early in the morning or late in the afternoon. We also ensure we celebrate different religions’ festivals as a finance team throughout the year.
Can you share any significant achievements or milestones in your career that you're particularly proud of, especially as a woman in Finance?
I would say that getting my first director level role was a very proud moment. I was promoted from within, and the recruitment process was an external and I was the preferred candidate. More recently I am very proud of my appointment as Exec Director of Finance. The recruitment process was again external, and I was the successful candidate. Although it’s stressful going through any recruitment process, getting the job is even sweeter when you have been benchmarked against external candidates and come out on top! More broadly speaking, I have always worked full time, and whilst that’s not always been easy, I do feel I have managed to overall to balance both bringing up a family and progressing in my career.
What advice would you give to other women aspiring to leadership roles in Finance or similar fields?
Take every opportunity you can. Don’t let fear of failure hold you back or fear that you don’t tick all of the boxes on the job profile. People rarely do, they just have the confidence to think they can do it. Don’t assume that your good works speaks for itself either. Make the effort to network and manage upwards.
How do you balance the demands of your professional career with personal commitments and wellbeing?
By engaging a lot of self-discipline! I go to the gym four times a week and try and do yoga or pilates at least once a week. I like to go early in the morning and then come back and take my two chocolate labs for a walk before I start work. The temptation otherwise is to get up and start working straight away. Especially if working from home. I try to make sure we have action packed weekends planned with the family so I can really switch off.
In your opinion, what are the key factors contributing to the underrepresentation of women in senior finance positions, and how can organisations address this issue?
In the social housing sector, because it is so family friendly with flexible working, I don’t think there is anything holding women back. If only all organisations were like that. I think another factors for the lack of women in certain organisations may be due to the number of girls taking numerical subjects at school as these were typically favoured by boys so I think it is about encouraging girls to take these subjects. This is happening in school but these things take time to work through.
As a leader, what initiatives or policies do you advocate for to create a more equitable and inclusive workplace for women in Finance?
I think it is about making the world of work more inclusive for everyone. I think flexible working is key to making this happen. Not such an issue in my organisation as women are not as underrepresented and we do have excellent flexible working policies.
How do you approach mentorship and sponsorship opportunities for women in your organisation or industry?
We have excellent opportunities for all employees to grow and develop with opportunities for coaching and mentoring and professional development such as the ILM.
Looking ahead, what changes or advancements do you hope to see for women in Finance in the future?
I would like to see more women in senior positions in other sectors apart from my own. Continued encouragement for girls to do numerically based subjects at school should be a big factor in this.