The idea for the Working Group Senior Professionals came from the good experiences that the Fondsfrauen have had with their Young Professional working group, which has been running for a long time. We wanted to offer something similar for our senior professionals because they have other, very specific questions.
The 1st kick-off for the new working group took place on 3 March 2022, and a lot has already happened in the meantime:
- Steering Committee found to drive the working group forward
- Theme set
- Established our own Landing-Page .
- started a Whatsapp-group
- Own seminar programme elaborated with factual topics (e.g. how do I become a supervisory board member and how much time does it take?) and emotional topics (e.g. how do I prepare myself for the change of perspective? What are my strengths?)
The aim of the working group is to network senior women so that they can get something going and give each other practical tips in view of the change of perspective that is either imminent or has already taken place.
We know that this is not a gender issue, but that it affects men just as much. Maybe men even struggle more when they lose the status symbols of a senior position when they retire (company car, great office, the team you lead, the position with title...). It affects men and women, but the Fondsfrauen are there for the women.
The women in our group do not want to be involved 24/7 after retirement,
- but bring in their wealth of experience and continue to apply it.
- They want to stay part of the industry and continue to go to industry events.
- They also want to inspire other, younger women and support them with advice + action.
And this is what the women want to do or are already doing after the change of perspective: They work as
- independent consultant
- Coach
- Interims Managerin
- Supervisory Board member
- and many more
In various ways, they continue to contribute their knowledge and wealth of experience for the benefit of the industry.
Anke Dembowski is a financial journalist and author of various investment fund-related and other financial books. She is also a co-founder of the "Fondsfrauen" network.