years ago to a boutique US/UK tax start-up company; a company that was shortly after acquired by Blick Rothenberg, which was starting its own acquisition-led, transformation journey. The start-up was seeking a partner-level technical
specialist to work three days a week. This requirement had put other applicants off. However, it was this “stars aligning moment” that offered Sonya a platform and workplace culture to continue to share her experiences. Today she helps influence policies and practice at Blick Rothenberg – a place where she says she has “found her people”. “One of the biggest benefits of the move for my
career is not tax and accounting related,” says Sonya. “What has really been interesting, and what I’ve loved doing, is the diversity, equity & inclusion (DE&I) journey. Nobody at Blick Rothenberg had really thought about that before. “About a year in, one of our female audit graduates
came to us when our gender pay gap figures first came out. She noticed that she didn’t have any female partners, directors or senior managers at that point in time in her audit part of the business and wanted to know where her path was. She reached out to one of our partners and we all got talking about setting up a women’s network. Its role primarily was to connect women like her to senior women in Blick Rothenberg. Until then, we were there, just not in her line of visibility. “That developed into the Women’s Network, to ‘what
do we want it to be?’, into today. Five years down the line, we’ve now got a head of DE&I. That was one of the biggest things we managed to achieve; getting the firm to put some money behind a non-chargeable role and to have the support of our CEO to do that.” The Women’s Network remains as strong as ever.
Now it is helping shape Blick Rothenberg’s thinking on policy and practice around menopause and fertility planning, for example, as well as continuing to connect people within the business. Sonya also continues to work with other leaders in Blick Rothenberg to heighten understanding of
individuals’ unique circumstances,
including emerging work around social mobility, neurodiversity and financial wellbeing. Recognising how formal education does not include
key financial life-stage skills, Sonya has run popular lunchtime drop-in sessions for new graduates on the wealth-related aspects of homebuying, parental leave and pensions. “If I had more time, I’d campaign on financial wellbeing,” says Sonya. “You aren’t going to balance society if you don’t balance those easy things.” These sessions are alongside Blick Rothenberg’s very
successful offer of personal financial coaching to all employees; something that is particularly important for women – and increasingly, men – if they take family- related leave because of the impact on lifetime income and pensions savings. This has seen a firm-wide 61% take-up rate for a financial consultation in partnership with Octopus Financial.
EMBRACING EQUITY “One of the biggest things I like to talk to anybody going off on maternity leave about is that we can give you all the opportunities at work – that is quite structured,” says Sonya. “The bit that people don’t talk about that much is what is happening at home. If you don’t set that up equally, and it’s so easy for that to happen, then it’s going to be harder to succeed. The mental load must be more
17
evenly balanced.” In the office too, everyone – not just women – is encouraged to work flexibly and feel safe about being open when it comes to their external commitments or wellbeing needs if
their circumstances need it.
This includes paying attention to perceptions around childcare for example. “The thing that I try to do and enjoy doing is picking up on language,” says Sonya. “If people are saying dad is babysitting. He’s not – he’s looking after his children, the same as their mum would be. It’s just so important – for both parents – to get that right and not create difference with the tone of conversations. The language, as well as the impact of shared caring arrangements, needs to be balanced.” Offering advice to young people entering the labour
market for the first time, Sonya says: “Be confident that what you want is there for the taking. Find the firm that is right for you. The wrong firm will have barriers and you don’t have to settle for that. There are opportunities for hybrid and flexible working so you can make your life work, flourish and achieve your dreams. “Days like International Women’s Day are so
important for raising awareness around this and for influencing others. There is too much lip service paid to gender and other equity issues. Talking about what we and others are doing in practice and what you need as an individual makes an impact.”
“ I’ve been very lucky with where I’ve got to. I want other people to have that opportunity. For example, flexible and part-time working shouldn’t be a seniority-led benefit. If you can make everybody’s lives easier everywhere, they are going to perform better. You are removing barriers and giving them opportunities.”
THINK WOMEN
GLOBAL LEADERSHIP
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