We talk to Ann further about how she has helped lead the way for credit unions as a female CEO of a credit union. Here’s what Ann says:
1. Financial services are often seen as a male-dominated industry. Do you feel you have extra barriers to overcome as a female CEO?
Financial services in this country are male dominated and so is the credit union sector. But Credit Unions are different as we are about people above profit.
Credit Unions board members are mostly male, however more than 50% of our members are women and its good at East Sussex Credit Union, that our members are represented.
I do think than women and men work differently. I think women work much more collaboratively which has been our biggest strength in dealing with issues over lockdown. Myself and my all-female management team have worked very collaboratively to sort things out so that we can continue to maintain the service that we’re providing.
I also think that generally women aren’t so good at bragging about themselves and putting themselves forward, which can make it more difficult for women to be promoted and it can make it more difficult when asking for money as there’s a certain amount of assurance that you need to relay to potential funders. A more male trait could mean that figures and numbers are more important whilst the female trait, I think, has been more about looking at people and our social mission definitely reflects the female-dominated management team that we have at East Sussex Credit Union. This has been a great asset in changing the way we have delivered our services in partnership and helping our local community to build financial resilience through a crisis such as the COVID pandemic.
2. Since you’ve been CEO, you’ve won a number of awards. What does this mean to you and your team?
Receiving awards is great as they give recognition for all the work that we’ve done and I’m not just talking about me. It’s about the team. We do seem to lead the field in the credit union movement.
The way we have developed our digital delivery without hefty funding has been phenomenal. Our commitment to our social mission and the way we continue to work in partnership with local authorities and charities is ground-breaking. Other credit unions often come to us and ask us how we have done it.
The way we have managed to deliver all our social value with limited resources is excellent. We may not be making lots of money but we are helping to make people’s lives better which is what credit unions are all about. The awards that we receive recognise this effort.
