I’ve accepted that I stick out like the proverbial sore thumb with my colourful shoes and complete lack of a gilet, but it took me a long time to move beyond acceptance into actually celebrating my differences for the very real strengths they can bring to an organisation.

While many of the men in finance can focus on doing their best work, women in a male-dominated industry not only have to work that much harder to get a seat at the table in the first place, but they also have to build the confidence to unapologetically take up space that wasn’t designed for them.

Within a few steps of our office, you can choose from any number of high-end clothes shops, some of the finest names in British footwear, and every prestige accessory you can think of – if you’re a man. When one of the guys spills their coffee down themselves, they have three new shirt options within 100 feet of our front door, when one of us does, we have to make the trek to Oxford Street.

The fact that even the local retailers haven’t moved with the times is an interesting illustration of how very male-centric this industry still is, and how far we have to go in making everyone feel welcome.

More than the sum of our parts

Diversity is a complex and multifaceted beast, and it goes far beyond the (still woeful) gender divide. Building a diverse company from the ground up means crystallising the skills and behaviours that will make you successful and having the courage to throw off the industry norms to secure them.

Many companies with complex offerings like financial services or advanced technologies struggle to think outside the box in terms of the skillsets they need to succeed. It can be almost impossible for non-traditionally trained people to progress in these organisations where the standard practice is to limit senior roles to a very specific profile, even when that skillset isn’t directly applicable to the business function.

At first glance, this makes a lot of sense; you want deep technical expertise to match your deeply technical offerings. However, this means a lot of companies miss out on exceptional talent with different backgrounds and instead create an echo chamber with only one way of approaching things.

Given the historical lack of girls in STEM, this stance also automatically rules out a lot of women who never got the chance to specialise in finance or technology but might have an enormous amount to offer. Not only does this risk alienating potential clients who don’t see themselves reflected in your company, but it also makes it even harder to attract that unique person who could breathe new life into your organisation.

Diversity by design

Before I joined LAVA, I had zero M&A experience and would have assumed the sector was entirely closed to me. It’s only because LAVA Partners Hamish and Simon did such a great job of breaking out of the accepted confines of the industry that I even got the opportunity to discover how fascinating it is.

My non-financial background means I can explain the M&A process to business owners and entrepreneurs without getting so bogged down in technical detail that I blind them with science. Even better, my varied sector background pays off every day in quickly absorbing and understanding the key value drivers of a client’s company and articulating them to potential buyers.

My example is pretty straightforward now more people are beginning to appreciate the transferability of skills like comms, marketing and sales, but you can only build a truly diverse team if you treat roles across the board with the same approach. The LAVA team, of course, has deep expertise and top-notch qualifications in all the financial areas you might expect, but scratch the surface, and you’ll find some backgrounds and experiences that are almost unheard of in the wider industry. But how is that a benefit?

An originations expert with a recruitment background has the ultimate edge in building and nurturing lasting relationships. The Director with operational consulting experience rather than an accountancy degree can understand and communicate the benefits of M&A for business costs and synergies.

Our very first employee was straight out of uni with not a single day of ‘Big 4’ experience under her belt, and she’s streets ahead of her peers thanks to being immediately immersed in hands-on client interactions and real-world deals experience.

By targeting skills and behaviours that drive a culture of discovery and innovation rather than specific people, experiences or career paths, you can sculpt a team that are all true standouts in their field, not just the best of a smaller, much more specific bunch. We know we do our best work when it’s a product of all of our ideas, and the more voices we can bring to the table, the richer that conversation will be.

Here are some comments on the subject of diversity from other women within LAVA

Millie Counsell, Assistant Manager:  “I think the gender diversity problem in Finance needs to be addressed at an earlier stage of the funnel, with a much more proactive and practical approach to career guidance. Currently, the industries you hear about are almost entirely reliant on which parents are prepared to come and speak, whereas underrepresented sectors proactively working with schools to share their knowledge and experience could help students get a broader view of their options right from the start.”

Summer Bond, Operations Coordinator: “Even within the wider finance world, M&A struggles for female representation and is considered particularly exclusive and purely technical. While it is complex, it’s also a heavily relationship-driven industry, so there’s room for a vast range of diverse backgrounds and perspectives to make a real impact. We have everyone from highly technical due-diligence experts to non-financial specialists like me, so I think the industry as a whole needs to do a better job of demonstrating how varied and diverse it can be.”

Cannelle Ramas, Analyst: “I think improving diversity of any kind hinges on the next generation being able to see themselves represented. Many women don’t even consider a path into finance because of the ‘old boys network’ image, and to change this we need to set an example for what it can look like to be a woman in finance. Networking and events are a great way to meet people once you’ve already taken the plunge, but we need higher profile female representation to show girls and young women that this is an exciting, rewarding career they can excel in.”