Anna King, CPA and CFO of Mesh Payments.
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“You don’t look like a CFO. When did you start your career?”
“I can’t believe you’re a CFO.”
I have heard statements like these countless times throughout my career. While I believe that no offense is intended, these words dismiss the years of experience and qualifications that I, and other women, have worked so hard to obtain. Words like these are part of the problem in addressing diversity in workplaces. After all, it is rare to comment on a man’s appearance or age.
Instead of saying, “Wow, you’ve been a CFO for over 10 years, you must have started quite young,” try saying, “Wow, you’ve been a CFO for over 10 years. What are some of the challenges and successes you’ve seen in that time?”
But while the status quo mindset still exists across job titles and geographies, the tenor of responses to biased questions makes me hopeful that things are changing. For example, a reporter recently asked New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern why she was meeting with Finnish leader Sanna Marin, by saying, “[Is it] just because you’re similar in age and, you know, got a lot of common stuff?” Ardern replied by asking, “whether or not anyone ever asked Barack Obama and [former New Zealand Prime Minister] John Key if they met because they were of similar age.”
When we dare to look beyond the expected, people receive opportunities to fulfill their aspirations and secure these high-ranking roles.
IBM is one example. Its first female CEO, Ginni Rometty, spent almost a decade in the role. One of IBM’s own studies found that when an organization has a woman in the corner office, its leadership pipeline has 23% more women than other companies.
Change is happening across major U.S. companies. When Susan Wojcicki became CEO of YouTube in 2014, 24% of its workplace was women; by 2017, it had grown to almost 30%. Crist | Kolder Associates found that last year, the share of female CFOs rose to a new high of 16%, up from 15.1% in 2021 and 12.6% in 2020.
Hiring diverse candidates helps to break down stereotypes about how people should look when they apply for a role—and the attitudes of “what a CFO looks like” adjust and, with time, disappear altogether.
It is not a pipeline issue, as women hold 52% of entry-level positions in financial services. Lean In’s Women in the Workplace 2022 report finds for every 100 men who are promoted, only 87 women get promotions. That disparity also can be because women are often the ones faced with the choice of advancing their careers or caring for the family. It is essential to create a culture where women feel empowered to work around the schedule that best fits their needs.
Mesh Payments is the first company in my career where I’ve worked alongside more than one other woman C-level executive. We lead with a C-suite made up of a female CFO, COO and CPO. Yet as noted above, only 16% of CFOs at major U.S. companies are women. Collectively, businesses have a long way to go.
So what’s the solution?
Often, leadership roles are obtained through internal or external networking. I’ve been to events where 90% of attendees are male; that’s intimidating for women to exert themselves in a conversation. So, I encourage you to connect with people who are different from yourself. Be aware of those around you who are not speaking but may have something interesting and valuable to say. Both men and women can do a better job at giving everyone space to be heard and participate in these conversations.
Can you reach out to women in your network and mentor and guide them? Offer the same opportunities you do their male counterparts. Thanks to this kind of support, I have been fortunate to progress, build skills and receive guidance in my career.
Start being the support system for women. They have earned their right to be part of every C-suite.
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