Website: https://www.mazumamoney.co.uk/
For Lucy Cohen, co-founder of Mazuma, International Women’s Day signifies “A chance to review where we are, how far we have come and what is left to do.”
“There’s more women being given a platform to make their voices heard, something I have noticed across my personal and professional life.”
“The C-suite is still very male dominated and large organisations still have very old-school business and working models that may hinder women. Also, in all sectors, parental leave is a problem. Only about 1 per cent of men take more than 14 days paternity leave. Revolutionary idea – make equal parental leave mandatory. Whatever one partner takes the other must too. That’d quickly even things up.”
When asked, how can women better enable each other instead of compete? What needs to change in your opinion? Lucy responded “Firstly, we need to stop asking this question – it continues to perpetuate the idea that women will naturally compete with one another, and that there can only be one alpha female in a room. That isn’t true. Women have tremendous capacity to raise each other up, advocate for each other and, for those of us who have forged a path, to reach a hand back.”
“There will be scenarios in life where women will end up in competition with each other, and that’s a good thing – we shouldn’t fear it. After all – that means we have a more level playing field and more women are fulfilling their potential.”
“Insist on a seat at the table. Develop your skills to make your voice heard. Stop being apologetic and ask for what you want. Be direct, no more – ‘would you mind awfully?’, or ‘only if you have time’.”
“I don’t fear being told ‘no’ or having to approach a problem multiple times before I get the result I want. This is a marathon, not a sprint. I’ve also had great role models around me and have found allies, so that when I asked for a seat at the table, they have helped it happen.”
“Don’t wait until the perfect moment – it will never happen! You must be comfortable making a move when things aren’t exactly as you’d like. Better to get something done that is 90 per cent than wait for it to be 100 per cent and miss your shot.”
