Good afternoon all. It is a pleasure to see so many of you here, in-person and online, celebrating International Women’s Day.

My name is Bethan Jones – I’m a second-year Accounting and Finance student at Lancaster and the President of the newly established Accounting Society.

I’m incredibly proud to be a student at LUMS whose departments motivate females to pursue their chosen careers, regardless of which gender is at the forefront of their industry. They provide an abundance of support for women throughout their achievements, as well as hardships.

I’m also extremely grateful that LUMS Careers has organised this event to bring to light the significance of diversity and inclusion, as well as the importance of recognising where we can improve as a society regarding this topic. Those of you who are attending today are already taking a step in the right direction to make a change – your presence is noted and valued.

Accounting Society

The Accounting Society’s executive board is comprised equally of men and women. This is something we are incredibly proud of, and I believe it’s one of the key drivers in the success of our establishment. Though we are only a team of eight, the presence of four females is - and will always be - fundamental to our operations. The qualities of great leaders have never been gender-dependent. The entirety of the exec team brings their own strengths, experiences, cultures, and perspectives to the table. The growth of the Accounting Society is owed to all our individual contributions – and I question whether we would be in the same position now if our leadership structure was different.

The Accounting profession is rising in terms of gender equality, yet there are still shortfalls. According to Accountancy Age, only 1/5th of senior roles within the accounting industry are filled by women. Though there will be various contributing factors, I believe that lack of confidence from females and prolonged male dominance plays a part. We must encourage fellow females to strive for seniority today to create an equal tomorrow.

In light of this topic, I thought I would touch on my own personal doubts about becoming a society president. Six months ago, if you would have told me I would be running a society, I would refuse to believe you. My own perception of society leadership was flawed. Due to our culture, for years it has been second nature to assume that leaders, directors, managers are male-dominated.To me, society leaders were those who had the strength to have a final say, to be assertive and vocal when needed. With shame, I admit that I associated those qualities with gender.

What broke this trail of thought for me was the inspiration and encouragement from fellow females within LUMS. The inspiration for the Accounting Society came down to one woman in this audience - Tanya Parry – who restored my self-confidence and supported me through my doubts about taking on a leadership position. Many times, she has highlighted my self-worth when I couldn’t. My point is, female role models are crucial for female empowerment and growth. Behind every strong woman is another that supports her. Restrictive gender role stereotypes are still ingrained in us as women, and it is vital to raise the visibility of female role models – especially for those in industries long dominated by men.

I encourage you all today to recognise and thank a female who supports your personal developmentand continue to be thankful as recognition is often overlooked.

The Rise of Women isn’t due to the fall of men

Tonight, I have the pleasure of hosting a women’s panel through the Accounting Society in collaboration with the Lancaster University Investment & Finance Society (LUIFS) and the Women In Business Society. When I first proposed the women’s panel to some of my male executives, the instant response was that they assumed they weren’t invited or part of it. I was fascinated by their initial reaction.

The exclusion of men does not honour women. This is a backward development that we must eradicate. To give rise to women, we must join in unison as we are today, to recognise that all support for women, including that from men and extended communities, will lead to the blossoming of equality. Representation is significant for all communities – derecognition of one will never promote another.

We must exercise our utmost effort to encourage women to embrace their achievements, successes, and representation – but that should not lead to the suffering of others. A current deception of our time is that men must fall to support the rise of women. Stepping back to let others rise won’t lead to gender equality and it is a defective solution, a short-term perspective. To reach equality, we must unite in our efforts to raise issues, confront, and conquer stereotypes.

If you are a senior, invite your female juniors into meetings, embrace their curiosity and establish their confidence. Check-in with your female colleagues – we are exposed to physical and mental challenges and we suffer in silence. If you feel a female is reserved, encourage their ideas and engagement. These are only a few examples of what you can do to support female colleagues, friends, and family.

To finalise, I would like to share a statement by Sheryl Sandberg that I personally find uplifting: “In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders.”



Thank you.

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