(And How This Remarkable Mum Overcame Them)
Today, I’m delighted to chat with Maureen Kirwan, a Portfolio Manager at the Investment Management firm Henderson Rowe, who took a five-year career break before returning to her current role.
We’re talking about her experiences working in the male-dominated Financial Services sector and living as an expat in Saudi Arabia. Maureen shares her experiences of living in Saudi Arabia and the differences she encountered as a woman there and in the UK. Maureen talks about trying to break back into Financial Services and Trading after her career break and what had changed in the industry while she was away.
Key Highlights
[02:31] Introducing Maureen
[03:22] Understanding Henderson Rowe and Maureen’s role in the company
[04:26] How she got started in financial services
[08:20] Pursuing a male-dominated course at the University.
[10:59] Were there any female role models when starting her career?
[12:59] Moving to ExecutionTrading
[15:59] The only female trader
[17:53] Are women more risk-averse?
[19:48] Advice for those who are not sure about applying for a specific job
[20:41] The career break and working from home
[26:38] Lessons from career breaks
[28:55] How she ended up in Saudi Arabia and living as an expatriate
[31:56] What was it like being a woman in Saudi?
[35:55] Why she left Saudi
[37:06] Starting her role at Henderson Rowe
[38:44] Why you need a support network
[42:49] Advice to parents returning to work after maternity
[44:37] Connect with Maureen
Notable Quotes
- The trading side means you must keep up with the news and know what’s happening. So, it sort of suits me quite well.
- I had a massive culture shock joining the workplace. Yeah, it was largely dominated by male decision-makers and female administrators.
- I was the only female trader, definitely on the desk.
- The evidence on the investment side is that women tend to pick more risk-averse portfolios, but they generally tend to do better in the long run because they tend to sit and hold on to positions and develop slow growth.
- There isn’t a role for mothers with young children in the UK, most of them work full-time or at least part-time, and then they’re busy with their family life.
- I said to my husband we’ve had all these moves. We’d gone from London to Madrid, Madrid to Guilford, Guilford to London. We can go to Saudi, but we’re not moving for five years. And as it turns out, we ended up moving houses twice within Saudi.
- You get treated much better as a woman in Saudi Arabia. There’s a different culture and set of values that I think are very hard for us to grasp.
- Even if you’re not working, you always need someone to drop the children off in an emergency.
- One of the fears I had returning after five years was that stuff would have moved on so much that I would feel quite lost.
Show Links
Connect with Maureen Kirwan on LinkedIn.
Check out Henderson Rowe here.
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This episode is kindly sponsored by Henderson Rowe – one of the UK’s cutting-edge Investment Management firms. They worry about your financial future – so you don’t have to, and act as your trusted partner, giving you financial peace of mind. If you’re interested in hand-tailored investment advice, visit Henderson Rowe’s website to learn more about how they can support your and your family’s financial future.
Henderson Rowe is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The value of an investment may go down as well as up, and you may not get back the money you invested.