Ahead of International Women’s Day (Friday 8 March) Jersey Finance is proud to be launching a brand-new series of events for women who work in the alternative fund and private markets eco-system. The first one of these will take place on Tuesday 26 March in Mayfair, London.
The purpose of these exclusive events is for female professionals from both Jersey and London, to share insights and emerging trends, discuss challenges, collaborate, and connect. Guests will engage in conversations on pivotal topics during a laid-back brunch session.
It is further envisaged the network will help to elevate and inspire the next generation of Women in Alts by creating an environment for women to not only discuss their own career journeys, but to also share what they feel would be transformative for women forging careers in the global alternative funds space.
Our UK Director of Funds and Corporate, Nicola Le Brocq, recently reflected on the importance of these events: “Creating a network is Jersey Finance’s way of supporting the gender equality discussion. It is crucial given that in a recent EY report it was found that only 33% of UK financial services directors appointed were female, down from 61% in 2022.
“Additionally, from a more focussed perspective, Preqin reported that less than a quarter of employees in the alternative investment industry were women, and the proportion of female representation on boards in the alts industry is woefully low at 10.3%.
However small incremental changes matter, and the Deloitte Centre for Financial Studies published some promising statistics from their ‘within reach’ series showing projected growth of women in financial services for most countries by 2030, most notably, in the ‘next gen’ role category. Citing within its key message “There is no ‘one size fits all’ to achieve greater gender equality. But organisations that advance and prioritise gender equity internally, can position themselves to influence public policy, shape or reshape cultural norms, and differentiate themselves across their spheres of influence: their workforce, the market and society as a whole.”
Le Brocq added: “Meaningful change must start with a frank conversation. This isn’t about paying lip service to a familiar debate. It is about the financial services industry consciously removing the selection bias and fostering an authentic and open environment, where women can be honest about what they need to succeed – without deterring their career opportunities.
“I am looking forward to connecting with women within the private markets and alternatives industry throughout the year. I strongly believe in the old adage of ‘you cannot be it, if you cannot see it’. I’m hoping events like these will provide future female senior professionals in the funds space with the confidence to carve their own path to success.”
Visit our Women in Alternatives hub to learn more about our upcoming event series or contact our events team.
