Alice Chambers |
Women in financial services should embrace a mindset of work-life integration rather than balance to foster a deeper sense of fulfilment in both their careers and personal lives, according to panellists speaking at a ‘Women in FSI’ session at Money20/20 USA. And artificial intelligence is helping them to achieve that.
The discussion, which was hosted on the Microsoft booth, featured Kathleen Mitford, corporate vice president of global industry marketing at Microsoft; Christine Cavallo, senior vice president and head of strategy for enterprise at Citizens; Isabelle Guis, chief marketing officer at Temenos; Trish Devine, global head of corporate sales at J.P. Morgan; and Jacqueline O’Flanagan, head of financial services for the Americas at Microsoft.
The panel began by discussing pivotal moments in their careers.
“One of the things I’ve learnt along the way is how important it is to have sponsors as well as mentors,” said Cavallo.
Guis agreed that having an executive in the room who can vouch for you and say you’re ready for the next challenge is invaluable.
“The most defining moment in my career was when I became part of the c-suite,” she said. “I got there because men believed in me, they saw value in my work and helped me to grow. It’s important to have diversity in a company […], but we cannot do it alone and I had to rely a lot on male sponsorship.”
When asked about the challenges they have faced so far in the industry, the panellists were unanimous on the importance of work-life integration rather than the concept of work-life balance.
“Being intentional with your time is a challenge,” said Devine. “Quantity doesn’t mean quality and sometimes you can do more in less time.”
O’Flanagan explained how AI can help employees to achieve work-life integration.
“When new technology becomes available, you need to push yourself to learn”, she said. “It becomes tangible when sitting down with clients to be able to explain how you’re using AI to achieve use cases. For me, AI does 50 per cent of what I used to do so I can be more intentional with how I spend my time.”
Guis then emphasised the importance of women being involved in the development and integration of AI by referencing how women in France were only able to open their own bank accounts (without the permission of their husbands) in 1965 and American women weren't able to do so until 1974 with the introduction of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.
“We need to make sure we have the right data sets available when working with customers,” she said. “Diversity in generative AI will have a huge impact but we have to do it in a conscious way. It’s very important to play with AI – next year you won’t be able to catch up.”
Mitford agreed and explained how the use of AI in her private life has contributed to her using the technology in her work life. “When you start to use technology in everyday life, employees expect to be able to use it at work,” she said.
For example, Mitford’s son used Microsoft Reading Coach to improve his reading score and she used the Minecraft Coding Course with both of her children to help them learn how to code with AI. This equates to people in the workplace embracing new technology to learn new skills.
Read more: Mitford on integrating AI into daily life in the Summer 2024 issue of Technology Record
The panel concluded with questions from the audience, including: "What tips do you have for organisations looking to start women-empowerment programmes?". The panel replied that it boils down to setting achievable goals, structuring a programme that align with business goals and providing a balanced curriculum to elevate members on their career journey, such as training on regulations and responsible AI.
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