he event was the second meet-up of female employees from across the Company. It was an opportunity for female colleagues to network with other women from the Company, and share their knowledge and ideas.

General Manager Jane Sim gave a speech about her experience of working in the male-dominated industry of Finance, and highlighted the differing attitudes men and women have towards their success, and how they view their achievements in the workplace.

“Through this initiative, our goal is to motivate female staff members to aim high and reach their career goals at Ebury and beyond. We want to raise awareness in this important area, not just within the Company but also externally, as we are serious about attracting more female candidates to Ebury.

Women in key senior roles publicly sharing their experience, such as Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and BBC News Anchor Katty Kay, is a great motivator and really helps to get the message out. Before our event I happened to read an article by Katty Kay talking about the “Confidence Gap”. According to research from Columbia Business School men tend to overestimate their abilities by around 30%. Whereas for us women, it is just the opposite! We worry we may come across as pushy, but that does not even occur to men. Just being aware of this sort of thing can really help when it comes to being more assertive in the workplace.

I am really looking forward to getting more involved as we develop the Ebury Women’s Initiative further.”

Co-Head of Capital Markets Marita Cavalcanti also spoke about her experience of working in similar environments, having spent over 15 years within the investment banking sector, working for banks such as Lehman Brothers and Nomura.

“I would like to congratulate all woman at Ebury on their choice of joining a company in traditionally male dominated industries – Finance and Tech. I think this is a great place to be, and working environments have changed a lot for the better since I started working in finance. There is still a long way to go to achieve perfectly equal treatment, but it is also up to us as women to change behaviours and perceptions. Don’t be afraid to be direct and ask for what you think you deserve – your male counterparties will already have done that a long time ago regardless of whether or not they really deserve it.”

The event was a huge success and feedback received was very positive. We hope that by holding quarterly events such as these, we can encourage more women to join Ebury, and support those already on their entrepreneurial journey with us.