Since joining Wenn Townsend in 1980 our partnership chair Deborah Pluck has been leading the way for women, not only in our firm but in the industry, and for women in business in Oxfordshire. As the first female partner and first female chairperson of Wenn Townsend Deborah is a big advocate for championing women, founding the Oxfordshire Women’s Forum and mentoring her colleagues to achieve the successes she has accomplished. For International Women’s Day we took the opportunity to chat to Deborah about why women in finance are so important.
What advice would you give to young women just starting their journeys in accountancy?
Go for it. You have chosen a great career and with hard work should be able to achieve all you anticipated. These days with ever more women in the profession, as well as business, the ‘glass ceiling’ really has cracked and no modern businesses would dare, let alone wish, to have pay or status discrimination on the basis of gender in their organisation.
The theme of IWD 2024 is Inspire Inclusion, how do you feel the industry can improve to ensure women feel included? How inclusive have you found it working in the industry?
I may have been lucky, but I have never felt excluded even when being the only woman in a room full of very serious men! As a professional, you have expertise that others don’t, and so your opinion is as valid as any other person, but maybe more so because you are female and can therefore contribute a perspective different to many men, which is a very positive attribute for your organisation.
At Wenn Townsend we continue to support all our employees regardless of gender, and strive for senior management to be an equal female/male split, how can we advocate for more women to join the industry and ensure they feel supported to grow and achieve senior positions?
I feel this is best done by actions, not words. I started at Wenn Townsend being supported at the outset through my accountancy exams and progressed smoothly to Senior Partner today, thereby setting a very positive example for others. I see absolutely no reason for both male and female to still be able to steer the very same path at Wenn Townsend, today.
Today is about celebrating all women have achieved whilst acknowledging there is more work to do, how can we continue to Inspire Inclusion for all?
Accountancy is not a single sex society. We are all people, and a female perspective may well differ from the male, but both are necessary just as much in commerce as in society. Inclusivity is advocated but it should just be the norm, whether it is gender, race, age etc. So, I am not sure we need to celebrate any particular group’s work, but be pleased we all contribute to an environment with reasonable representation of all the best of society in which we live.
Since joining Wenn Townsend in 1980 our partnership chair Deborah Pluck has been leading the way for women, not only in our firm but in the industry, and for women in business in Oxfordshire. As the first female partner and first female chairperson of Wenn Townsend Deborah is a big advocate for championing women, founding the Oxfordshire Women’s Forum and mentoring her colleagues to achieve the successes she has accomplished. For International Women’s Day we took the opportunity to chat to Deborah about why women in finance are so important.
What advice would you give to young women just starting their journeys in accountancy?
Go for it. You have chosen a great career and with hard work should be able to achieve all you anticipated. These days with ever more women in the profession, as well as business, the ‘glass ceiling’ really has cracked and no modern businesses would dare, let alone wish, to have pay or status discrimination on the basis of gender in their organisation.
The theme of IWD 2024 is Inspire Inclusion, how do you feel the industry can improve to ensure women feel included? How inclusive have you found it working in the industry?
I may have been lucky, but I have never felt excluded even when being the only woman in a room full of very serious men! As a professional, you have expertise that others don’t, and so your opinion is as valid as any other person, but maybe more so because you are female and can therefore contribute a perspective different to many men, which is a very positive attribute for your organisation.
At Wenn Townsend we continue to support all our employees regardless of gender, and strive for senior management to be an equal female/male split, how can we advocate for more women to join the industry and ensure they feel supported to grow and achieve senior positions?
I feel this is best done by actions, not words. I started at Wenn Townsend being supported at the outset through my accountancy exams and progressed smoothly to Senior Partner today, thereby setting a very positive example for others. I see absolutely no reason for both male and female to still be able to steer the very same path at Wenn Townsend, today.
Today is about celebrating all women have achieved whilst acknowledging there is more work to do, how can we continue to Inspire Inclusion for all?
Accountancy is not a single sex society. We are all people, and a female perspective may well differ from the male, but both are necessary just as much in commerce as in society. Inclusivity is advocated but it should just be the norm, whether it is gender, race, age etc. So, I am not sure we need to celebrate any particular group’s work, but be pleased we all contribute to an environment with reasonable representation of all the best of society in which we live.