Herminia Ibarra, Chaired Professor of Organizational Behaviour, INSEAD commented, “What has made you successful in the past in not necessarily what will make you successful in the future.”

Wang Yuan, Deputy Director, China Development Bank, mentioned that in the financial services women are on par with men as they are educated and compete on merit. Women have the confidence to succeed. In china, women get 6 months of paid maternity leave and husbands get 2 weeks. This is generous compared to the west!

To their credit, financial services sector puts the most effort, time and money into recruiting MBA students. But are there enough role models? What can we do to create more women in power within the finance sector. Organisations need to showcase their senior women and focus on attracting and retaining talented young women. Start educating women at a young age and introduce them to wide range to subjects and career choices. Women look for balance and growth in the organisations that they join. Be willing to adapt and be flexible to their needs. Nurture young talent and develop them by giving stretch assignments and coaching. Put this as a requirement for managers’ performance appraisal. Female senior managers need to mentor other women to help them grow.

Traditionally, finance has been dominated by men but we might need to create a level playing field so that women can also compete. Think creatively how work is designed and how career paths evolve. Can we deconstruct work so that we can creatively think of providing more flexibility. ‘Children and family’ is not just a women’s problem. We don’t make them on our own! Men are also looking for the same flexibility and balance in life.

Is it true that women are worse than men in playing the game of politics? Women tend to be direct and it may be that they don’t know how to play this game or that they dislike playing politics. Instead of focusing on the negative aspects of power and politics (i.e. when somebody gets what they did deserve), think about how you can sell your ideas and enlist people in what you want to do. By thinking of the positive aspects of politics, women can develop themselves to have greater impact and influence.

In golf it takes time to practise your swing, similarly it takes time to get to know your colleagues and build relationships with your clients. Talk to three people you don’t know, call three people you haven’t talked to in a while and call three clients everyday. Share a little personal story as it helps build relationship. To be successful, you need to build a network outside your career path. Make yourself valuable to the company and learn from different environments. Another suggestion was to get your clients to talk about how great you are to your boss. It is very important that you build a great reputation both inside and outside the company.

Finally more women are willing to support others and spend the time to mentor younger women. In the past, when we had very, very few women at the top it was hard for them to compete but now as the numbers are increasing they are enabling more women succeed. Mobility and flexibility is important and it’s a question for everyone in society as to how we can take advantage of flexibility without impacting our reputation or adversely affecting career progression.

Fintan Farrell, Director, European Anti Poverty Network, expressed his opinion that Hedge Funds are widening the wealth divide and have a destabilising effect on the economy. He thinks that hedge funds have no regard for the impact on lives and spread precarious employment. An investment banker in the audience disagreed with him and expressed her views on what hedge funds do. Coming from a finance background, I do understand that hedge funds are only open to a limited range of qualified investors. They create a lot of wealth for themselves but that does not mean that it is unfair or illegal.

I think that there should be public debate on this as people don’t fully understand the role that hedge funds play. Sometimes people are misinformed by media and then they perpetuate these thoughts unknowingly.

Marina Flindell, one of the “Rising Talents” from JPMorgan is passionate about what she does, is extremely humble about her achievements and has a beautiful, energising smile. She says that she was shocked when she first heard that she had been selected as one of the Rising Talents. She is very excited to be one of the 20 Rising Talents and said that this recognition has boosted her energy and enthusiasm to do even more.

At the age of 30, she co-founded the Pushkin Academy of Russian Heritage in New York. What started in a rented Manhattan public school with 17 students has now grown to 90 students aged 2.5 years to 9years. She said, “we wanted our children to be bicultural providing an environment for them to learn and speak Russian. ” Establishing a business was tough but she is very happy with the results. Marina also has an 11month old daughter who accompanies her on Saturdays to the Pushkin academy for the Mommy and Me class.

It’s great to see her energy and I was inspired by how she manages to have a successful career and a baby and give back to society through this social project. This gives many young women the hope that we can also have it all. It is hard to think big on your own but when you get the right support it becomes easier.

Marina feels that she has been extremely lucky for having met the right people at the right time. She is thankful for her incredible parents who motivated her to achieve her dreams, her supportive husband who wants her to work, amazing boss who understands her and wonderful mentors and friends who challenge her. She believes that her network has been very useful and the trust that she has received from others has enabled her to trust others and develop them.

I believe in the old adage that the harder you work, the more luck you find. I hope that young women can learn from Marina and build their network of mentors, coaches and supporters and thereby make their own luck.