ISSUE 8: January 2024Wrapping up 2023What a fantastic year 2023 was! From reaching 1,000 members to being finalists for four awards, this newsletter looks back at our key events in 2023, as well as introducing some of the ways we will continue building on our success in 2024. Reflecting on our events in 2023...Our webinars this year focused on a variety of key themes, including disABILITY, providing a useful foundation to embrace our differences and provoke meaningful conversations at work. ‘The Wise Leader’ provided a practical guide for thought-provoking leadership, with the overall message being that as leaders we must strive to continuously reflect to develop their own wisdom. In April we hosted our showcase event, 'Finding Your Voice' where one of last year’s runners up, Chimmy Ngoma from Calastone, talked about how taking part in the event has had a profound effect on her confidence and opportunities this year. This year, we received 27 applicants who were whittled down to 6 participants on the day. The participants attended an afternoon workshop with an amazing coach and then had two minutes to own the room and talk about their passion. We are going to be expanding this event in 2024, so please watch this space for further information in the New Year! Celebrating our 5th birthday!In June, WiAS hosted its Summer Networking Event, which was extra special as this year we celebrated our 5th Birthday! Jackie Leiper, CEO at Embark Group, joined us at the event as well as many other men and women from our network. We were also delighted to be joined by some of the successful young women, who took part in this year's Finding Your Voice event; demonstration that our network is special for uniting us all, no matter what our career aspirations. An inspirational founderJust last month, Kate Webber, WiAS founder, was listed in Brummell’s top 30 Inspirational Women: Pioneers, recognised for her work to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in the industry. A judging panel of highly regarded industry professionals reviewed a long list of candidates and Kate was chosen as a champion of new ways of working and thinking, driving institutional change, and inspiring the next generation. The network was also finalists in four prestigious awards, demonstrating clear recognition across the industry. Finding a MentorIn January last year, we launched the Mentor Matching scheme which provides the opportunity for members to connect and learn from leaders and experts in our field, boosting our confidence as the next generation of women progressing through the industry. To build on this, we are launching a pilot scheme, called Mentoring Circles to support the careers of mid-level individuals to propel themselves forward and determine longer term career aspirations and encourage networking within our industry and outside of their organisations. We will share more information about this in the next few weeks. Looking forward to 2024As we start the New Year, we want to announce some key changes for our network, in order to drive engagement forward and carry on momentum.Firstly, we will be streamlining our social media and eventually closing our closed LinkedIn members group, and focusing on our 'open' LinkedIn page instead. This will enable us to open our network up to a wider audience and connect with more Women in Asset Servicing. We will be communicating about this with members further, in the New Year, however, in the meantime please join the open LinkedIn page and invite others you know in the industry to join our network too. Additionally, we are excited to announce the introduction of the WiAS Podcast. We believe that podcasts will provide far more flexibility allowing our members to listen and engage with our content. We have some exciting themes planned, focusing on individual experiences, challenges and successes. Look out for an update soon. Lastly, following the expansion of our network to Luxembourg, we have a series of micro events aimed at developing this exciting new Luxembourg chapter. Ensure you keep up to date with the events page on our website (we advise bookmarking the page) and encourage your colleagues/ friends to join us on the journey in 2024. We also have a Luxembourg specific mailing list, if you would like to join, please email events@lu.wias.co.uk. Blog ContentWe would love to hear from anyone who would like to write a blog for us in 2024. You don't have to be a writer to create one and we can provide you with editing copy if you need some extra help. If you are interested, please get in touch. 2024 In-person event: |