A Woman Who Actively Champions Younger Women
A professional woman networking with colleagues in the City’s financial district. In the concrete jungle of London’s finance scene, it’s still rare to see a woman commanding the room. Men continue to dominate the most senior, best-paid positions in financial services – in fact, women held only about 32% of senior management roles as of 2021Progress has been slow (gaining not even 1% more women in leadership each year since 201), and the culture remains very much a man’s world. The City has always been male-dominated, traditionally populated by white, middle-class men who are seen as the “natural fit” for finance As one veteran female banker bluntly put it, “You have to be one of the boys to get on here. In this environment, any woman who rises to prominence does so against the odds – and when that woman also happens to be gay, the challenges only compound.
Jayne is one such woman. She’s a high-flying City power broker who has built a reputation (and a formidable network) in an industry that hasn’t always been kind to those who don’t fit the old boys’ club mold. To be fair, corporate attitudes are gradually changing – today many big banks proudly tout their diversity credentials, with firms like Lloyds Banking Group even ranked among the UK’s top LGBT-inclusive employers But cultural change on the ground floor is slower. In day-to-day dealings Jayne still finds herself, more often than not, the only woman – and the only openly gay person – at the table. It’s a role she’s learned to own with confidence and wry humor. After all, “accept the things you cannot change, and change the things you cannot accept” could be the startup mantra she lives by. Jayne can’t single-handedly remake the entire City culture overnight, but she sure as hell isn’t going to sit around accepting the status quo either.
The Dovetail Team of Changemakers.
Queen of Networking: Jayne in Action
Walking into her own networking event last week, I felt like I had David Attenborough in my head narrating the scene. “Observe the alpha female in her natural habitat,” I imagined his warm, knowing tone. “She glides from conversation to conversation, effortlessly forging alliances.” It might sound exaggerated, but watching Jayne work the crowd was a sight to behold. In a charcoal pantsuit and signature bold lipstick, she moved with purpose – a gracious smile here, a firm handshake there – radiating the kind of charisma that draws others in like moths to a flame. I’ve been to countless networking dos, but this one had a distinct vibe. Perhaps that’s because it was her event; she had personally curated the guest list and venue, setting the tone from the outset. Instead of the usual transactional affair (you know the type: 200 people exchanging business cards and elevator pitches in minutes flat), there was genuine warmth in the room. And Jayne orchestrated it all masterfully.
At many big finance mixers, easily 80% of the room is male, and conversations can feel like rapid-fire sales pitcheskearnybank.com. The old boys have long made deals on the golf course or over scotch, casually mentioning “I’ve got a guy for that” to help a buddy outkearnybank.com. Women historically weren’t part of that club – fewer women in senior roles meant fewer invitations to those informal deal-making circleshihello.com. Jayne knows this reality all too well, which is why she’s flipped the script. Her networking approach is less about working the room and more about weaving the community. She isn’t collecting contacts; she’s cultivating relationships. I watched as she introduced a young fintech founder to a veteran venture capitalist with the ease of a matchmaker, and later coaxed a timid first-time attendee into sharing her ideas with an industry guru. It was stunning – and effective. Research backs up this style: women often excel at building deeper connections when they network in a more personal, authentic wayhihello.comhihello.com. Jayne has clearly leaned into that strength.
Notably, being a gay woman may have given Jayne an edge in understanding the value of community. There’s a long-running network called Citypink that began as a small gathering for gay women in banking back in 2004wearethecity.com – a sign of how needed those support systems were (and still are). Jayne herself often jokes that while the gents had their golf clubs and whiskey bars, she and her queer female colleagues built their own web of contacts over coffee catch-ups and charity galas. And it’s paying dividends now. Women like Jayne demonstrate what studies are showing: when traditional networks exclude you, you create your own. In fact, female entrepreneurs have to do this to survive – only 7% of venture capital investors in the UK are women, and just 14% of angel investorslinkedin.com. In such an imbalanced landscape, “people tend to back what they know,” as one successful founder observed, meaning women and other outsiders must network even smarter to secure support. Or as Jayne quipped to me with a smile that night, “If there isn’t a seat at the table for us, we’ll just build a bigger table.”
Image: Women in finance supporting each other – building their own network and community. Jayne’s event embodied that ethos. The guest list was a who’s who of up-and-comers mixed with seasoned players across banking, fintech, and venture capital – refreshingly diverse in gender, orientation and ethnicity. She had deliberately invited a spectrum of people who should know each other but often don’t, and then played connective tissue all evening. It wasn’t about excluding men (they were there, nervously nursing their drinks until Jayne swept them into discussions too); it was about enlarging the circle. The collective buzz in the room said it all: here were professionals who felt seen and energized, exchanging ideas and contact info not out of obligation but out of mutual excitement. “Women need networks… mentors… champions,” entrepreneur Debbie Wosskow once saidlinkedin.com, and you could feel that in action – everyone was both giving and receiving help, regardless of rank. Jayne had achieved a rare feat: a networking night that didn’t feel like shallow schmoozing, but rather like the birth of a community.
A Candid Exchange – and A Favor in the Bank
Of course, I wasn’t there just to play nature documentarian to Jayne’s social prowess. I came with my own agenda too – as any startup founder in this town should. After observing her holding court for an hour, I finally caught her alone by the bar, sipping a ginger ale (she’s teetotal, which probably helps her stay sharp while others get tipsy). “Quite the event you’ve pulled off,” I remarked. “But tell me, Jayne – do you ever get tired of having to be everywhere at once? The face of the firm, the mentor, the role model… the networker-in-chief?” It was a direct, slightly cheeky question; essentially, I was calling her out on how much she was juggling. The people nearby went quiet, sensing a bold moment. Jayne raised an eyebrow at me, a half-smile forming. For a split second I worried I’d overstepped. Then she let out a laugh – a warm, genuine laugh that cut the tension. “You know what, Steve,” she said (a hint of relief in her voice at someone actually cutting through the polite praise), “I am exhausted most of the time. But what choice do we have? You keep pushing because if you slow down, the progress might stop with you.” The small circle around us nodded in agreement.
I pressed a bit more, gently: “Isn’t it ironic, though – you have to work twice as hard to get half the recognition, and then you’re expected to help fix the system too?” The question hung in the air. Jayne didn’t dodge it. She acknowledged that burden – noting that many women and LGBTQ folks in finance feel an unspoken pressure to pave the way for others behind them. “It’s not fair, but it’s reality,” she said. “I’d rather be the one opening doors than waiting for someone to open them for me.” It was a frank admission from someone whose polished image usually doesn’t show any cracks. I gave a small nod, showing respect for her honesty, and then couldn’t resist adding with a grin, “Just don’t forget us little guys when you break that glass ceiling completely.” She chuckled and clinked her soda can to my beer bottle. “Don’t you forget to break a few yourself,” she quipped back. In that moment, we weren’t mentor and mentee, or power broker and supplicant – just two people leveling with each other about the game we’re in.
Truth be told, a part of me had a strategic motive in not kissing her ass outright. By engaging Jayne in a real conversation – even challenging her a bit – I earned something more valuable than a generic LinkedIn connection. I earned her respect (or at least piqued her interest). And in the high-stakes world of finance, a favor from a well-placed ally can be as good as gold. These circles run on reciprocity. Now that I’ve shown I’m not just another sycophant, I’ve subtly put Jayne in my debt, and she knows it. One day, I might just cash in on that.
What might that look like? Well, imagine one of my venture’s key backers gets into a scrape – say a co-founder or VC partner is arrested for something stupid like driving under the influence after a celebratory dinner. At 2 AM, with a panicked call from the police station, who do I ring? Not Ghostbusters – I’d be speed-dialing Jayne. With her connections, I bet she could summon a top solicitor to that jailhouse in minutes, no questions asked. That’s the kind of clout having a City power broker in your corner can bring. It’s the insurance policy you hope you never need, but are damn glad to have. And it’s not just about emergencies; it could be as simple as an introduction to an investor I can’t reach, or a whispered word to smooth a regulatory hiccup. The point is, relationships are currency here. Jayne herself ascended by recognizing that truth – not only accumulating personal influence, but also generously spending it to help others (hence the near-reverence she’s earned). Now, by establishing a candid rapport with her, I’ve effectively opened a line of credit at the Bank of Jayne.
The Payoff: Changing the Game by Being in the Game
As the evening wound down, I found myself reflecting on just how far the landscape has shifted – and how far it still has to go. Decades ago, a woman like Jayne might never have made it into these circles at all. Today, she’s not only in the room, she’s hosting it. Representation matters, as we often say: seeing her thrive sends a message to every young woman, every LGBTQ person in finance that they belong here too. But representation alone isn’t a silver bullet. The gender gap in leadership and pay persists, reinforced by subtle biases and systemic inertia. Old networks and habits die hard. That’s why what Jayne is doing – building new networks, on her own terms – is so vital. It’s a reminder that change in the City won’t just trickle down from HR policies or annual diversity reports; it will come from people like her (and yes, people like me) grabbing a sledgehammer and widening the cracks in the glass ceiling.
In the end, the lesson I’m taking away from watching Jayne in action is equal parts pragmatic and inspiring. Pragmatic, because it reinforced the age-old truth that who you know often matters as much as what you know. I saw firsthand how deals get sparked in side conversations, how opportunities circulate within networks, and how crucial it is to have champions in your corner. As one banking article put it, women in business don’t leverage networks enough – unlike the guys who are quick to say “I’ve got a guy”, we need to start saying “I’ve got just the woman for the job”. Jayne embodies that mindset, always ready to connect and advocate, and it’s clearly working for her and her circle.
I’m not generally one for hero worship, and Jayne would be the first to wave off excessive praise. But credit where it’s due: she’s rewriting the narrative of what a City power broker looks and acts like. That’s good for business and even better for the next generation coming up behind her.
As I stepped out into the cool London night after the event, the image of Jayne laughing amid a circle of admirers stayed with me. I couldn’t shake that Attenborough narration from my mind, either: “…and so, through adaptability and grit, our savvy protagonist thrives, turning adversity into advantage in the harsh terrain of high finance.” A bit dramatic, sure – but not far from the truth. This world will remain tough; there are things we cannot change overnight. But watching Jayne, I’m convinced that we can absolutely change the things we refuse to accept. Sometimes all it takes is one woman owning the room – and the rest of us having the courage to back her up.
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