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UWA Business School
Female business leaders and executives have shared their experience and wisdom with high achieving business students at The University of Western Australia.

The Finance Association of Western Australia (FAWA)'s annual Women In Finance Cocktail Evening encourages undergraduate women students to pursue a career in business and finance.

The evening featured a panel discussion with respected executives in the business and finance community. Titled "'Career progression: stumbles and successes - what I learnt, what I loved and what I would do differently", the discussion invited panellists to speak about their career paths and progression, and what they loved about their jobs.

Panellists included Winthrop Professor Izan, Deputy Dean, UWA Business School; Sally-Anne Layman, Division Director - Metals and Energy Capital, Macquarie Bank; Claire Mortoni, Manager Business Projects, Wesfarmers; Melanie Hay, Investment Director, Viburnum Funds; and Rebecca Russell, Principal, Boston Consulting Group.

Attendees were given the opportunity to ask panellists about a range of issues. Questions focussed on topics such as balancing career and other external commitments, the roles of women in business moving forward, the challenges faced by each panellist during their careers, and the best and worst advice they received during their career.

MC Winthrop Professor Ray da Silva Rosa, from the UWA Business School, entertained guests and added to the discussion by providing a wealth of knowledge from his own work in finance.

Industry guests included representatives from ANZ, Argonaut, Azure Capital, BCG, BHP Billiton, Credit Suisse, Deloitte, Department of Treasury, General Electric, Macquarie, and Westpac.

FAWA Committee member Hannah Berdal said the Women in Finance Cocktail Evening gave female finance students an important opportunity to learn more about careers in finance.

'We have been extremely fortunate to have such esteemed panellists from a broad range of industries on board this year. Women In Finance is an initiative FAWA has run for the past three years and each year we continue to be overwhelmed with positive feedback from both industry professionals and female students,' she said.

‘The opportunities and networks the event offers have been invaluable to the students and we hope to continue to engage such dynamic and successful women leaders in our seminars and workshops moving forward.'

Through various events and initiatives, FAWA hopes to play a role in increasing the representation of women across many parts of the finance industry.

Currently, women are significantly underrepresented in finance, particularly at the executive level. In Australia's investment banking sector, for example, women comprise between 20 and 30 per cent of graduate recruits. Of the women who do work in the sector, only around 10 per cent hold front-office roles, and 15 to 20 per cent hold C-suite jobs, according to a 2011 survey by executive search firm Collins Consulting.

Globally , the investment banking industry is employing more women than in the past. Still, no global investment bank is headed by a woman. And according to the 2011 Catalyst Census of Women Executive Officers and Top Earners , which examines the number of women in upper management in Fortune 500 companies, women comprise 18.4 per cent of executive officers in the finance and insurance industries.

FAWA Committee Member Leora Friedland said industry-supported events, such as the Cocktail Evening, are encouraging more women to consider a career in finance.

'Helping women discover and explore the opportunities available to them in finance is something that FAWA strongly promotes. Through events such as the Women In Finance Cocktail Evening, we can help female students understand that a career in finance offers a lot more than stock markets and investment banking,' she said.

FAWA's Women in Finance Cocktail Evening was held on Thursday, 18 October.

Media references

Catherine Vogel (UWA Business School) +618 6488 7340
Verity Chia (UWA Business School) +618 6488 1346