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Outstanding Westholmians is a series in which we will feature girls who have gone on to become women of achievement in their respective fields. If anyone has a specific question or a desire to know more from any of the featured women, please ask your form teacher and it can be arranged.
Sarah Snowdon, 1981 to 1988
What do you do now?
I am a Police Officer with Lancashire Constabulary. I work within Public Order and Defensive Tactics training based at Police HQ, Hutton, nr Preston. I basically teach officers in riot training, self defence and method of entry training(how to gain entry into secured buildings).
How did you get into this line of work?
I was simply asked if I wanted to become a Defensive Tactics instructor. So I said ‘yes’. After I qualified I was teaching self defence on a ‘part time’ basis alongside my normal everyday work as a Police officer within Pennine Division (Burnley area). A full time post was advertised back in 1999 for which I applied. In 2001 I transferred to my current post at Hutton.
Has it been difficult in a traditionally “man’s world”?
There are a total of 3706 Police officers in Lancashire, 988 of whom are women (26.66%). Working within the Police service has been a challenge on some occasions. I joined the Constabulary in 1990 and things were quite different then. Choosing a career in Public Order training has certainly had its moments!
What does it take to be successful?
Determination and hard work
Any advice for Westholme girls today?
Make sure that whatever career path you choose in life, enjoy it!
Joanna Fielding, 1980 to 1987
What do you do now?
I am the Chief Financial Officer of Standard Chartered Bank (China) Limited, living in Shanghai. I moved here 2 years ago shortly after we locally incorporated to support our accelerated business growth in what is our fastest growing market. Having said that, Standard Chartered Bank has had a continuous presence in China for over 150 years! Prior to this role I was based in Singapore for 3 years as CFO for SE Asia covering 8 countries, and before that was the first CFO for Global Technology & Operations and Group Head of Procurement and Vendor Management, based out of London & Singapore, but responsible for teams in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Dubai, Africa and London. I also worked in New York for 2 years from 1997-1999.
In addition to my line role, I am also a member of the Bank’s Executive Forum (the top 80 senior managers), and am Chair of the Group’s Women’s Council responsible for driving our gender diversity strategy across our 75,000 employees in more than 70 countries. In addition to gender diversity in the Workplace, we also focus on diversity in Customers and the Community, recognising that we have a responsibility as an organisation to Lead the Way in the markets in which we operate across Asia, Africa & the Middle East.
How did you get into this line of work?
After University (I did a BSc in Business Economics), I joined BT as a finance graduate trainee (I decided not to go via the audit route having had work experience in both practice and industry). I completed my CIMA (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) qualification, and moved into the financial services sector. I worked for several major UK and international banks including NatWest and RBS, before joining Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) 12 years ago. Obviously, I am very glad I did given that we are one of the few bank’s to come through the current financial crisis relatively unscathed, and with continued record financial performance!
Has it been difficult in a traditionally “man’s world”?
Financial Services is still very male dominated, particularly at senior management levels. In SCB about 20% of our senior managers are women, although that varies from country to country and across business units and functions. In the Finance Management Team, the ratio is less than 15%, but in the China Management Team, it is 40%!
Whilst at times it has undoubtedly been difficult and I have had to make trade-offs, the Bank is a very supportive organisation, and as you can see I have had some great opportunities to live and work in different cultures.
What does it take to be successful?
Hard work – definitely – and a commitment to always want to outperform. That doesn’t necessarily mean to be overly competitive, but to always want to perform better for yourself. SCB is a strengths-based organisation, and my top strength is Maximiser, which means striving for great rather than good! Also, recognising that you can not achieve on your own – so the ability to build and maintain relationships, whether it be with senior management or your junior team members, is critical. To truly achieve success, you need to enjoy what you do!
Any advice for Westholme girls today?
Learn from others, but don’t try to be someone else - be true to yourself, and ensure you enjoy whatever career path you take.
Be adventurous –I know that my life is richer having had the opportunity to work in a very diverse and multi-cultural organisation.
Sophie Scott, 1971 to 1983
What do you do now?
I am a cognitive neuroscientist – I study how our brains process the information necessary for communication, such as speech perception and production, and emotional processing. I am particularly interested in understanding how our brains change due to circumstances – e.g. how people who have lost their hearing cope with cochlear implants. I have also worked with people who have had strokes, to understand how their brains change as they recover. It is a really exciting time to work in this area, as we have fantastic new techniques to look at the human brain and how it works.
How did you get into this line of work?
I did a degree in Psychology, then a PhD at UCL. I worked for a while as a researcher in Cambridge (at an Medical Research Council Unit), then returned to UCL where I applied to the Wellcome Trust for a fellowship. I now have a Senior Research Fellowship from the Wellcome Trust, and in 2006 I was promoted to Professor by UCL.
Has it been difficult in a traditionally “man’s world”?
To some extent – in science, a lot of currency is placed on being very verbally confident, to say what you think and not be afraid to ask questions. I think that women can sometimes be a little bit restrained in, for example, seminars, and men thus seem to do all the talking. However I am pleased to note that that seems to be changing, and that there are lots of confident young women coming through. Notably, in my field women are well represented (indeed, a prominent researcher who works in a closely related area to mine also went to Westhome). What can be hard for women in a science career is having children, since your twenties and thirties are spent building your career, and a gap for maternity leave can be hard to manage. However it is not impossible (I have a son), and I see many good female scientists who have families.
What does it take to be successful?
Confidence, courage and commitment. You have to confident to believe that you can do something, courageous enough to go for it, and committed enough to put the hard work in.
Any advice for Westholme girls today?
You have a great opportunity – make the most of it.
