“On whose shoulders we stand.”
Although it seems contrary, we have always promoted the inclusion of men within the Powerwomen awards to ensure they know about the issues women face and are able to put their energy and skills behind the movement.
I am Karen Jones, Editor and CEO at Citywealth. I Studied Women’s Leadership at Said Business School Oxford University and have run the Citywealth business for 18 years with eight staff and 450 blue-chip, global clients. The Citywealth Powerwomen Awards is just one product that we have, and it has run in Europe for over a decade and in New York for 4 years. It was set up with a London School of Economics professor with its aim to have influence and to support career progression for women at whatever level of their career.
And although it seems contrary, we have always promoted the inclusion of men within the Powerwomen awards to ensure they know about the issues women face and are able to put their energy and skills behind the movement.
There is a year long process to find the winners which involves submissions and recommendations; an in-person lunch in London and New York with 10 judges each. We have online voting for clients and peers to contribute to your success. We then have an aggregation of votes from the judges and the global wealth management community to find the winners.
Our mission is to raise the profile of all women involved with our editorial, networking, user ratings and awards products to ensure visibility for business development and career progression.
Whatever Citywealth does though to help now and in future, I always think, that it is worth reflecting on whose shoulders we stand.
I am asked frequently what advice I would give to women, but I feel it is important to first read about the struggle women have had to get a vote or seat at the table. In the UK for instance 1975 was the first time a woman could get a mortgage or loan without “asking her husband.”
English author Jeanette Winterson who explores gender polarities wrote a short book after a speech for the BBC in July 2018.
It documents a her-story that is sad and unpleasant. I believe it should be on school curriculums along with financial education for girls. It looks into women on boards and new advances like A.I., as well as #metoo and sexbots. She does not pull any punches.
(My kind of woman).
The back cover quote says, “behind every great woman is a man who tried to stop her”.
Winterson also publishes a speech from Emmeline Pankhurst, an English political activist who organised the British suffragette movement and helped women win the right to vote. She was born in Manchester, England (as Winterson and also I were) but she delivered this now famous speech “Freedom or Death” in America, actually in Hartford #connecticut in 1913.
Pankhurst roused crowds on both sides of the Atlantic, as part of a speaking and fundraising tour. The Suffragettes who were women who organised protests to get the vote, were ultimately imprisoned for their militancy and forcibly fed during hunger strikes to prevent them dying because they were causing tremendous embarrassment to the British government. Pankhurst said at the time “we have to face the alternative either women are to be killed or are we are to have the vote.”
She said in Connecticut “You won your freedom in America with the revolution and sacrifice of life. The same with civil rights but women have been left to work out their own salvation.”
According to the 2022 Gender Gap Report from the world economic forum, it will take 151 years to close gender gaps and although women’s economic advancement would mean contributions of 12 trillion dollars a year added to global GDP progress is stagnating.
Coming back into the present, Tik Tok made infamous the name Karen, saying it is usually a stereotype of a difficult customer. Considering everything I have said today, I am happy to be that difficult, ‘militant’ customer and to speak up for mine and others rights .
Like the women who won the right to vote, we must keep our foot on the peddle. we need to shout up, reach out, be courageous to finish the job.
Subscribe to the Citywealth Weekly Newsletter to learn more about Private Wealth Management.
Horses: Carrots, carats and cool mints
A polo mint, it turns out, is a good way to a horses heart but horse racing, often dubbed the "Sport of Kings," has long been associated with prestige, wealth, and high stakes.
The new landscape of sanctions
In today’s globalized world, cross-border legal issues and financial sanctions have become increasingly common, and with them, legal professionals are facing mounting responsibilities.