Women in Finance & the City

BSc Finance students encourage secondary school pupils towards careers in Finance

Monday 13th November 2017

The Department of Finance is proud to have supported an event at Blackheath High School aimed at encouraging young women and girls in pursuing careers in finance.

Students on the BSc Finance programme participated in ‘Women in Finance & the City’ which was part of Blackheath High School’s second annual Careers Conference. Students from Blackheath High School and other local secondary schools, ranging from Year 9 to Year 13, were given the opportunity to hear first-hand from guest speakers from the finance, banking and other business-related sectors.

Student presenting at event

“Have confidence in yourself and your abilities.”

Speaking alongside senior representatives from J.P Morgan, Mizuho International Bank and HSBC, Emma Williams shared her experiences as a second year student of the BSc Finance programme at the LSE, and encouraged the students to be confident in themselves when applying for courses that have traditionally had lower female representation.

As well as explaining how she became interested in pursuing a career in the finance sector, Emma also gave students a summary of the BSc Finance course structure and the opportunities that she has taken up as a student at the Department of Finance at LSE - including her upcoming summer internship at Lazard.

Emma’s closing remarks to the girls in the audience were encouraging: “increasing the number of women in finance is important” and reminded students to “do what you want to do, not what someone else wants you to do.”

Students at Women in Finance & the City event

“Our personal aim for the event was to provide the students with knowledge of the BSc Finance programme at LSE, with the hope of seeing more inspired, young females applying in years to come.” – BSc Programme Manager, Helen O’Riordan

After the talk, Emma Williams was joined by fellow BSc Finance students, Sophie Mallinson and Daria Nasledysheva, to meet with students who attended the event and their parents. They further discussed their experience and what studying finance meant to them, and raised awareness of opportunities and career paths available.Several of the secondary school student attendees remarked that the event opened their eyes to the possibilities of pursuing a degree in Finance and that they felt encouraged by the speakers who they felt they could relate to.

The Women in Finance & the City evening is just one of a series of events the Department of Finance is pleased to take part in, aimed at encouraging wider participation in the finance sector. Learn more about our Pathways to Banking and Finance launch.