Oakley Capital celebrates International Women’s Day: what does #EmbraceEquity mean to you?

We hear from colleagues across the firm

It's definitely time for us to think about how we got here. All of the women that came before us have helped get us to a place where we are now treated equally in the workplace. It's also an opportunity to think about what we can do as women in the workplace to set the bar even higher for future generations. #EmbracingEquity is about moving from being treated as equals to recognising that we have different circumstances. We come from different backgrounds. We have different home situations. I'm a working mum with two little ones. I appreciate being in a workplace that recognises that and gives me the flexibility I need to succeed. It tells me that that my work is appreciated, that I am appreciated. At Oakley, I think we can be proud of our achievements so far. We have great female leaders across the Firm and women comprise almost 50% of our workforce.

Equity reflects the fact that not everyone starts from the same position, so we need to help people in that way. When I think about our industry and private equity, it's about how do we help women succeed through the workplace and through a long-term career in private equity, creating that equality of opportunity that really will enable women to thrive and achieve senior leadership positions, rather than just building up a funnel at the junior levels. It’s also about creating a sense of belonging, making sure you can be yourself in the workplace. In today's working environment, that means you can reflect your gender, your background, your sexual orientation, and still feel comfortable that you can achieve your full potential. For women in particular, that means they're not feeling disadvantaged because of their gender. So at Oakley, we're constantly thinking about how we recruit, onboard, train and nurture our talent to help them achieve their full potential.

International Women’s Day is an opportunity to take a moment to pause, reflect, and think about all those brilliant women that have gone before us. Those women that have impacted our world socially, politically, culturally, economically, that have really made a difference for the world that we live in today. It's also a moment to look ahead. What is the world that we're creating going forward for our children, for our daughters, for women still to come? A culture of belonging is all about ensuring what people need to feel welcome. How do you welcome people into a culture in a way that is important for them personally? How do we allow them to not feel judged in the workplace, to bring their very best self to work every day?

International Women’s Day is about promoting the next generation. When talking to junior women about breaking into the private equity universe, my number one piece of advice is ‘just get in’. It is a very demanding field, but with a huge pool of candidates who are really interested to get their foot in the door. Don’t think too much about finding the perfect role, but finding a role and most importantly, establishing your own credibility within that first role. Once you're in it can be a very merit-based career progression. As you apply the technical skills you learn, be it executing deals or demonstrating value creation, you ultimately grow your career. At the end of the day, if you have the right skills and the right experience, anyone can succeed in private equity.