In celebration of International Women’s Day, Dawn Crichard, non-executive director, GCP Infrastructure Investments, shares her expert insights on the state of diversity in investment management and the importance of internships.
A brief introduction first! I am a Non-Executive Director on the Board of GCP Infrastructure Investments Limited, a FTSE 250 investment company managed by Gravis Capital Management. After training as a Chartered Accountant, I was keen to move straight into a ‘nuts and bolts’ business, so joined a construction group as a Finance Manager and was made Financial Director after a few years. Twelve years later I needed a new challenge and, in the following years, I worked at hedge funds, commercial companies on IPO routes, Family Offices and helped establish new companies.
Two years ago, having been a CFO for over 20 years, I embarked on a full-time non-executive board career. By this time, I had worked at companies of different sizes and ownership structure and experienced businesses being closed, restructured, going through crises and various exits including private equity. This broad experience, training and learning from mistakes made – mine and others – hopefully allows me to add valuable perspective.
The discussion around the lack of female leaders in the board room is nuanced and not easily summarised in this short article, so I will not try. But it’s worth noting that in my entire executive career it wasn’t until I joined the board of GCP Infrastructure, that I finally sat on a board where there was another woman alongside me.
DEI isn’t just political theatre
When I started drafting this piece, I looked at my list of saved articles resulting from my long-term addiction to news. Sure enough, along with ‘How to perfect squats, the most underrated exercise’, and ‘Roasted, Mashed or Boiled? Hot tips from the potato queen’ was an article entitled ‘Was DEI really just performative political theatre?’.
Because while diversity, equity and inclusion had gained good traction in recent years, not a day seems to go by currently without news of some large company publicly pulling back from its DEI commitments – especially in the US.
We cannot fix these giant geopolitical changes, but we can make sure our own working environments are inclusive. My approach is, and has always been, one of fairness and working with decent people. Gravis leads on this, with my enthusiastic support, on its approach to internships.
Internships for all
Historically, internship opportunities have been skewed towards individuals who already have access to networks, financial support, or industry connections. Indeed, a Christmas cracker joke I will always recall is the one that said ”I’ve got an Eton-themed Advent calendar, where all the doors are opened for me by my dad’s contacts”.
As a result, entire groups of talented individuals have been left without the opportunity to have a great intern experience which can help build their careers, provide them with new perspectives and, in the case of one young Gravis intern, lead to an entirely different choice of Masters degree than originally planned.
Gravis and I agree that internships must be fairly paid otherwise only those with wealthy enough parents willing to provide financial support can afford to take them. This disproportionately excludes individuals from lower-income backgrounds who cannot work for free. Companies should offer paid internships to ensure opportunities are open to all, regardless of economic status.
Led by a fellow diversity supporter, Bianca McMillan, Gravis has offered opportunities through schemes such as ‘10,000 black Interns’ and ‘Young Women into Finance’. I would also add that each year we have taken on interns outside of these schemes because only taking diverse candidates is equally unfair and this type of positive discrimination has, in my view, contributed in part to the backlash against DEI. Diversity, equity and inclusion should mean everyone is treated fairly.
As an aside, and for those interested, I thoroughly recommend reading Matthew Syed’s book ‘Rebel Ideas: The Power of Diverse Thinking’. It is a challenge to obtain the power of diverse thinking if you only recruit from a narrow social and economic pool.
The value of soft skills
The soft skills obtained from an internship experience are underestimated in my view. Knowing how to dress correctly for an occasion, time keeping, how to behave in different situations, learning to respectfully challenge, watching people make mistakes and dealing with them are all invaluable. Perhaps for young women in particular, the experience of being in a room which includes senior women leading and making strategic decisions, could open up a world of previously unthought of possibilities.
I always really enjoy meeting our interns in person and my advice is; keep a sense of perspective, try not to take anything personally, say yes to stuff outside your comfort zone, do not be frightened of making mistakes and be prepared to step up. Above all, move on if you do not like, trust and enjoy working with your colleagues. These have been my best lessons learned. Because you cannot be part of change unless you are sat at the table.
Written by Dawn Crichard, non-executive director, GCP Infrastructure Investments
Gravis Capital Management Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority; registered in England and Wales No: 10471852 and its principal place of business is 24 Savile Row, London W1S 2ES.
