This year’s theme of #BreakTheBias encapsulates everything that Carterwood is about.
We are renowned for doing things a little differently, and as a team we are proud to constantly challenge and revolutionise the norm. Each one of us is responsible for taking action to create and foster a gender equal world, free from bias, stereotypes, and discrimination.
In 2020, just 8% of FTSE 100 companies had a female CEO, compared with 3.6% among FTSE 250 companies. FTSE 100 companies also have a higher female representation, with a higher share of executive directors, non-executive directors, and overall boardroom representation (Statista). As of March 2021, women made up only 17% of RICS professionals globally, an increase from just 13% ten years prior (RICS). These statistics shine a light on the true balance of women in our sector, but we are proud to be one of the many organisations who are making positive changes to help address this imbalance and #BreakTheBias.
Not only does Carterwood have a female co-founder, Amanda Nurse, we are also proud to have balanced female representation across our senior leadership team, with a female finance director, Jane Grimstead, and planning director, Jessamy Venables, who work alongside our wider team to help create a diverse and equal workplace.
You may have noticed that we have recently moved offices, and now call Future Space, the innovation centre at the University of West of England, our home. Future Space, whose own core team is 90% women, is dedicated to helping women succeed in the sectors most known to be dominated by men – in perfect alignment with Carterwood, whose own business sector is heavily dominated with male voices.
With over 50% of the Carterwood team being female, we agree that the best way to support women in the workplace is by giving them an equal voice. So on that note, we would like to share the stories of female founders who have found a supportive home at Future Space, featuring our very own co-founder Amanda Nurse.
“At Carterwood it is not about whether you are male or female. It’s about the skills that you have for the role you fulfil. I started my career on a building course with 500 men, and then trained to be a chartered surveyor when less than 15% of chartered surveyors were female. This gave me, from an early stage in my career, a passion for women developing skills within those areas that are stereotypically male. We have an all-female finance team, female representation within the senior leadership team and within our data team, as well as our planning director also being female – all of those women have beaten the odds in their chosen careers.
During the early stages of my career, I was fortunate to have a mentor who gave me independent advice around my own career development. I now offer the same to others. I don’t charge for this – this is something I love, and I hope that I can share some of the things I have learnt over my 30+ year career. If this would be of interest to you, please email me on amanda.nurse@carterwood.co.uk for an initial chat.”
Amanda Nurse, co-founder at Carterwood
Click here to read the stories of female founders who we share our business home with.
