‘The fund industry has worked hard on gender equality’

What’s your role at the firm?

RF: I am director of the fixed asset management and insurance solutions team and leader of our London office’s activities for Duff & Phelps’ Network of Women.
Primarily, I manage large global accounts and the client and intermediary relationships that accompany the accounts. As my time at the firm progresses so does my remit. One of my current passions is to develop new technologies to advance the efficiency of our working methodologies and offerings to clients.

How did you come to be involved with Duff & Phelps?

RF: Duff & Phelps is growing, organically and through acquisition, and each acquisition brings more colleagues, more service offerings and cultural differences. Seeing multiple new faces in the ladies’ bathrooms sparked my desire to develop a network internally, to get to know those I work with better. There was a period a few years ago when our newly acquired businesses were still operating independently. I wanted to change that and bring women together. Although personally I wanted to develop an internal network, I discovered that NOW was already well established in our New York and other US offices. When I learned that the existing NOW objectives were to attract, develop and retain women at the firm, I asked how I could become involved. The program recently celebrated its five-year anniversary.

What does the network do?

RF: In London, we focus on client events that include one cultural, fun event, and one which is more topical and educational (though we hope this one is fun, too). By engaging with our clients both professionally and personally, we believe we can better meet their professional advisory needs.

Internally, we host a more frequent program: monthly NOW meetings, quarterly breakfast/lunch sessions, an annual charity quiz and some other cultural outings which enable our women to really get to know each other and learn what is going on within other parts of the business. In 2018 our goal is to co-host events with other women’s groups which are trying to achieve similar goals.

Over your career, how has engagement with diversity changed in the industry?

RF: My personal experiences before Duff & Phelps showed me how difficult it is to be female in a man’s world. Progress is being made, and the fund industry – unlike some other sectors – has worked very hard on gender equality over the past 15 years. Working at the firm, having two young daughters and meeting younger colleagues from the business who are at the foot of their career ladder – it’s easy to see how far the industry has come. Duff & Phelps certainly changed everything for me with regards to my aims on diversity. We have an even split of men and women in the London office and diversity is is on everyone’s mind, from our youngest colleagues all the way up to our senior management.

I am now thinking of working toward a time when a women’s network won’t be a must-have for businesses. Therefore, my aim is to work with other men and women who believe in diversity on all levels since I think this will have a huge positive impact for financial services in the long term.