the Power hour
KB: Our underwriting team is headed by Helen Farmer and she runs a predominantly male team in the most efficient way possible I think. LB: I think it’s fair to say women probably have a bit more attention to detail than men in general. It doesn’t mean they’re better at it. I think men pick up a case and can look through it and understand what needs to be done straight away but the finer detail is probably a stronger point for women. CW: I think the dealing with lots of things all at the same time and knowing exactly where all of my cases are at any given moment is something I’m better at than the boys, generally. I think women can have more on their plate at once and not lose track which is a useful skill in underwriting. AK: Multitasking in other words. LB: I’m not a multitasker at all. If I’ve got five cases on at once I’ll start thinking I’ve got to do something for one and then realise it’s not for that one at all, it’s for another one. I wish I was and I can know what’s going on but I still need to break it down to one task at a time. I guess that goes to show it’s not just a girl thing.
do you enjoy beIng In brIdgIng? All: Yes. AK: I love the challenge of bridging and the urgency of everything. In my particular role I’m trying to improve processes and help them get better at dealing with brokers and that’s satisfying. And I love everyone in the industry as well. DT: I think the diversity of the cases that come in is far more interesting than the mainstream market. It stretches you mentally. LB: I like working under pressure. If I have nothing urgent on my desk nothing gets done but I love it when I speak to someone and know it’s urgent and I have to think outside the box how I’m going to make it work. Although you think you don’t want to get problems it’s a nice feeling every time you tick a problem off. And the people keep you on your toes. CW: In all my previous jobs I’ve worked in them for a certain period and then got
bored. I find that bridging is a challenge because every case is different and throws new challenges at you and I enjoy working through problems till they’re dealt with. LB: There are so many ways that bridging can be used especially at the moment. From a commercial point of view it’s quick and well paid. From a satisfaction point of view it also helps us help clients who have had difficulty sorting their deal out – it’s immensely satisfying helping people who
OPINION by Sarah
Davidson, editor,
Mortgage Introducer
There
are commonly two ways women are written about in business, particularly in a male dominated sector such as financial services. Either there is the feisty ball breaker stereotype who gets to the top by behaving to all intents and purposes like a man. Or there is the recently labelled “honey money” brigade who embrace their femininity, wear stilettos, pencil skirts and a slick of lippy and use their wiles to get their way. Both are stereotypes and neither do women in the mortgage industry justice. Why should we fit into one box or another? Most women I come across in the mortgage industry and, more specifically, in the bridging industry are pretty down to earth, intelligent and diligent people. They do not tend to throw their weight around and neither do they display their cleavage and think that’ll whisk them to the top. They quite rightly recognise that (most of) the people at the top of the tree couldn’t give two hoots about the gender of a managing director, they simply want to see work done well. Nevertheless there is reason to bring the issue up and talk about it because although there are many unsung women behind the scenes
44 mortgage introducer NOVEMBER 2011
are struggling sort their problem out and get on with what they want to do – and get paid handsomely for it! KB: Although it’s been around for a long time I do think the bridging market is still in its infancy and it has a long way to go in its development. I’m enjoying being involved in that development and working out where our business fits, where the opportunities are and building the business. n
at lenders and advisers alike across the mortgage and bridging industries, there is undeniably a lack of ladies in senior roles. This is potentially in large part simply a case of perspective: media facing roles tend to be sales roles and women in mortgages and bridging tend to crop up in underwriting and relationship roles. There is also the old and obvious reason that more women take career breaks to look after children. But there is also an element of old boys club in both mortgages and bridging. Particularly in bridging where deals are done on the golf course and occasionally in dark bars. Ladies are allowed and yet rarely are they invited. One thing struck me particularly when speaking to the women for this feature – their total commitment to the bridging market, their jobs and their place as women within it. But underlying that there is an unmistakeable nervousness about discussing “women in bridging”. They are proud to be in the industry and not one says she feels she has ever been passed over in place of a man and yet they avert their eyes when asked if they’ve always felt equal. It’s a tricky subject and one person’s feeling equal is not always the same as another’s. For one girl being one of the lads and part of the banter is something they’re pleased to be in on; for others the occasional coarse language can be offensive. Here’s the thing though, not one of them wants to make a fuss. The attitude most commonly held appears to be: man up and get on with it.
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