Addressing the Gender Imbalance in STEM: Inspiring ‘Women into Financial Services’ Careers Event Coming to London
On Tuesday 8th October, STEM Women are inviting over 140 female STEM students, hoping to start careers in financial services, to an exclusive networking and careers event at the prestigious One Great George Street, in the heart of London.
Sponsored by NatWest Markets, this exciting event will allow students to meet face-to-face with big names from the financial industry, take part in an in-depth panel session with women working in financial services and hear an inspirational talk from IGTV Business News Presenter and Reporter, Victoria Scholar. The event has attracted impressive exhibitors including NatWest Markets, Bloomberg, Natixis, BlackRock, Fitch Ratings, EDF Trading, IMC, Moody’s, Janus Henderson, MJ Hudson and more.
In the financial services sector, 33% of the mid-level workforce in the UK is female, this decreases to 20% when you reach senior level, and women make up just 9% of the workforce at CEO level, according to a report based on the Office for National Statistics Labour Force. Companies are looking to address this gender imbalance; however, it can be difficult for recruiters to find female candidates for roles that are suited to graduates from a STEM discipline. This is important as many top financial companies are renowned for recruiting STEM graduates due to their specific skillset and quantitative degree background, but many STEM courses have a gender imbalance.
This industry focused event will strive to bridge the gap between talented female graduates and employers, starting conversations and boosting equality in the future workforce. Students will meet with top employers to talk about job vacancies, ask industry-specific questions, hear inspirational speakers and network.
Julia Daffy from NatWest Markets, sponsors and exhibitors at STEM Women London Autumn 2018 event:
“Investment banking is not an area that women will traditionally open their eyes to. We use opportunities like this to try and give them some ideas and thoughts about how investment banking could work for them and their degree.”
As well as the London ‘Women into Financial Services’ event, STEM Women are also hosting general careers events across the UK, that are perfect for female STEM graduates. With events in Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol, Edinburgh, Dublin and two more in London, there’s plenty of opportunities to come along.
Last year, over 1,000 female STEM students attended STEM Women Autumn events and expressed how impressed they were with the networking opportunities and panel sessions.
Chika Chima, a student from the University of East Anglia attended a STEM Women event last year:
“I thought the event was fantastic! Hearing about how the speakers on the panel got their jobs was really encouraging to me and making those connections was a great opportunity for me. It’s great to be able to say you know someone who is in the field you want to be in.”
Sophie Chadwick, STEM Women Events Manager: “We are really excited to be holding our first sector specific STEM Women event. The Financial Services sector can offer graduates a huge number of exciting opportunities which historically have not benefitted from gender diversity. Our event will show our female members that there are progressive employers with a wide variety of roles who are currently recruiting.”
The event day will run from 1pm-4pm, tickets are free, and refreshments will be provided.
Register for tickets – www.stemwomen.co.uk/events/industry-focus-london-event-financial-services
