Women in South African Financial Services celebrates first year

Bravura Solutions Limited (ASX:BVS) (Bravura): The Women in South African (SA) Financial Services Network celebrated its first year anniversary on 15 March 2023 at INN8’s office in Cape Town. Leading representatives from across the industry came together in support of International Women’s Day (IWD).

The network was launched on 8th March 2022, to mark last year’s International Women’s Day. It has grown to more than 200 members in its first 12 months and boasts partners from some of the country’s leading financial firms, including Bravura, STANLIB, INN8, 10X Investments and Altus Consulting.

The event saw more than seventy industry representatives unite to celebrate women in financial services and encourage diversity in the sector. This also allowed new female entrants to the sector to meet senior leaders from within the industry to create lasting connections to support their career progression.

The network aims to create a space for women across the financial industry to connect, share their professional skills, expertise, successes and failures, and support each other through communication and in-person events.

Georgina Smith, Head of Distribution and Client Services – STANLIB/INN8, said: “The amount of interest in the network from colleagues across South Africa over the past year has been fantastic. The network has been joined by hundreds of industry professionals from different backgrounds and age groups who want to support women, learn from each other, mentor, encourage the development of careers and create valuable connections in financial services.

“This group, with its already impressive membership and growing list of members from some of the largest global financial institutions, represents a crucial way for us to challenge the industry and support women to become whatever they want to be and achieve whatever they want to achieve. Being able to share this sentiment with so many like-minded individuals (of any gender and identity) at our offices, as we celebrated International Women’s Day, is a fantastic step towards building momentum and encouraging change.”

Carolyn Erasmus, Country Head South Africa at Bravura, added: “We started this project thanks to the huge success of a similar initiative in the UK. We believed that this could be valuable in the South African market to help reshape perceptions and build a diverse work environment that is free from gender discrimination and stereotypes.

“Whether deliberate or unconscious, bias makes it very difficult for women to move ahead. Encouraging greater equity, which was the global theme for International Women’s Day this year, is about giving everybody the same opportunities.

“It was great to see everyone come together again in occasion of the meet-up hosted on 15 March. This represents the culmination of the journey we started over a year ago. We still have plenty of work left to do, as encouraging increased diversity in the financial sector requires persistent focus and action from everyone. That’s why these types of initiatives will gain grow and evolve as they pass through the hands of more industry members.”

The Women in SA Financial Services Network held its very first networking event in Johannesburg on 23rd May 2022, which took the form of a casual gathering with professionals from across the industry, to chat and support each other in a relaxed environment.

To become part of the Women in SA Financial Services network and discover its upcoming initiatives, industry professionals can register by joining this LinkedIn group.