Overview & Contact
Events
Steering Committee
Overview & Contact


 

An international network for women in capital markets

The ICMA Women’s Network (IWN) provides a global, impartial and open forum to encourage, support and inspire women at all stages of their career and to further the aim of gender equality within the bond markets.

Through a combination of live events and online content, the IWN delivers practical workshops focused on skills for career progression and hosts discussions on relevant issues between influential industry stakeholders. Networking is central to the offering, supporting links between colleagues of different generations and levels of seniority, helping to foster inclusion throughout the industry.

The IWN supports gender equality at a global level: all employees of ICMA member firms are welcome to join, and international connectivity is achieved through active IWN committees operating worldwide. The IWN also actively welcomes participation from all genders and ethnicities, acknowledging that broad participation is essential in achieving positive, sustainable change.

 


  

IWN news

ICMA Women’s Network (IWN) announces new Chair of the IWN International Steering Committee


View the latest edition of the IWN newsletter



  

International Steering Committee spotlight

Highlighting the profiles of the International Steering Committee members

 

Angela Brusas

Meet Angela Brusas, Nordic representative of the ICMA Women’s Network.

Angela Brusas holds a position as Director at Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) in Helsinki. Angela is, together with the rest of the Funding and Investor Relations team, responsible for funding the Bank’s activities on the international capital markets and for the Bank's investor relations. NIB has been issuing green bonds (NIB Environmental Bonds) since 2011 under its greenbond framework, which has a Dark Green rated Second Opinion from CICERO. Angela represents NIB in the Executive Committee of The Principles and is currently co-coordinating The Principles' Impact Reporting working group, and the Taskforce for Q&A Guidance Handbook. Ms. Brusas joined the Funding & Investor Relations team in 2008 and the most recent degree is an Executive Master of Business Administration degree (EMBA) from Hanken School of Economics in Helsinki.

We spoke to Angela about the insights she’s gained throughout her career.

ICMA: What’s the greatest enabler for gender equality?
AB: Employers should aim to provide equal opportunities and fair treatment to all employees.

ICMA: What’s an example of how you’ve actively made efforts to address gender inequality at your firm?
AB: NIB’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Plan for 2022-2024 focuses on attracting, recruiting and retaining a diversified workforce, including increasing the number of women in managerial positions. It also aims to further develop and strengthen an inclusive work culture at NIB, including the continued support of fair pay and enhanced transparency in NIB’s compensation structure.

ICMA: What are the main challenges for women in the period ahead?
AB: Already vulnerable groups falling further behind due to crises and economic slowdown, especially in the emerging markets.

ICMA: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
AB: Remember to take care of yourself as well.

 


  

Event spotlight

Highlighting events from the IWN’s vast archive


Sustainability: the perspective of influential women in the rapidly growing ESG market
This event held at HSBC in 2018 assembled a number of senior influential women in sustainable finance, those who provide thought leadership and are at the centre of innovation. They explored the impact of green bonds, social bonds, sustainable bonds and other innovative financing solutions on the finance industry and the workplace as a whole, as well as by reference to their own career paths.

 


 

The Women in Finance Charter

ICMA’s commitment to gender balance

Monday Motivation

Join IWN on LinkedIn to follow the Monday Motivation series

 


 

Further reading

 


 

Get in touch 

Join our mailing list E-mail us at ICMAWomensNetwork@icmagroup.org
Follow the ICMA Women's Network LinkedIn page Follow ICMA Women's Network@ICMAWomensNet
Events

Upcoming events

Leadership, career progression and gender equality through a sustainable finance lens

Join the ICMA Women's Network in Copenhagen where our speakers from the sustainable finance industry will share experiences and best practices to help encourage leadership, career progression and to create a long-lasting, meaningful culture of gender equality.

Keynote speaker Lisa Ekstrand, VP Sustainability at Vestas and one of Time100's 2023 Climate Leaders, will reference her own lived experiences to share insights into her leadership journey, and describe how she retains prominence in the sustainable finance industry. 

The keynote will be followed by a panel discussion on the opportunities presented by the ESG agenda for career progression and gender equality, with industry experts discussing these developments through the lens of their firms' sustainability agendas.

The event will conclude with a fireside chat to discuss the importance of creating a lasting, meaningful culture that aligns with a firm’s vision, purpose and goals, and how to manage difficult situations within it.  

This hybrid event is free to attend; however, it is only open to ICMA members and invited guests. Register now.



Past events

Connecting to inspire

The ICMA Women's Network was established to further positive transformation by offering a platform for women from diverse backgrounds and professions – banking, technology, legal and education - to impart their experiences, wisdom, and insights to support and inspire the upcoming generation. This event which took place in Madridhosted by IE, established a lasting network to help foster connections and to create a supportive community where women can continue to exchange ideas, mentor, learn and be encouraged.

What does the future of work in finance look like?

At this joint event of the IWN and IFL, the potential future of work was explored. As we are on the cusp of a potentially seismic change in the way we work, with competing forces such as AI and technology accelerating at an unprecedented rate, a keynote delivered by Nicki Wakefield of PwC explained how we can keep pace with these influences and future-proof our own career prospects. Then, a panel of expert speakers considered the importance of making educated decisions for our careers while maintaining flexibility, and the benefits of undergoing supplementary education and learning additional skills.

ICMA Women's Network: Turning the tables

At this event, the younger, upcoming generation asked questions of a panel of more seasoned professionals from the investment banking and corporate industry. Taking account of the younger generations’ concerns and real life testimonials, moderator Annalisa Monfreda encouraged the panelists to respond candidly by reference to their lived experiences, gained over the years in financial services. The event also featured a session by Francesca Tumiati, who introduced the potential of astrology in our lives, both to help guide career choices and to help navigate the more challenging aspects of our professional lives.

ICMA Women's Network: Moving the goalposts

In this event, a panel featuring relevant professionals considered how the financial services and sporting worlds collide. By reference to their own lived experiences, they assessed the similarities between sustaining a successful career in each, including how to train and motivate women to remain in their chosen field, and how to retain women who are at the top of their game. The panellists reflected on the skills required for both, such as self-belief, preparation, resilience, determination, and sheer hard work, and offered advice to the audience on how to enhance their performance at work.

Réussir sa carrière dans un environnement masculin : celles qui ont osé !

The capital markets have a reputation of being predominantly male; nonetheless, many women have had brilliant careers in the financial, banking and economic sectors, and the “glass ceiling” was no impediment to their skills and qualities. This event in Paris in 2023, hosted by Oddo and supported by Euronext, comprised a panel of just such women, discussing their motivations, the challenges they had to overcome and how they managed to achieve their success. They shared their experiences of facing both resistance and support in the context of their professional careers, and tips on managing the balance between very demanding jobs and the ups and downs of family life.

Security, sustainability and inclusive recovery

Hosted by Nordic Investment Bank in Hesinki in June 2023, this event saw experts discussing the nexus between security, sustainability and the rebuilding of war-torn countries.

Hanna Smith, Senior Strategic Advisor to the Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, delivered a keynote on the current security environment in Europe. Following this, our panel of industry and market experts discussed how sustainable finance is keeping pace amid turbulent financial and geopolitical climates. To conclude, Antti Kuronen, foreign news correspondent at the Finnish Broadcasting Company Yle, discussed the situation in Ukraine, and the challenge of rebuilding through the lens of the economy, infrastructure and human capital.

The Generation Game

This event, hosted by Ashurst in London in 2023, comprised a keynote presentation from Victoria McLean of City CV, on practical solutions for the five biggest challenges that all generations face in their careers, from imposter syndrome to personal branding and beyond. Following this keynote, industry speakers considered how the workplace has changed over the generations, by reference to lived experiences of women and men. They discussed whether enough progress has been made in terms of workplace gender equality and specifically, how to ensure there are more women on boards, and how to smash gender and cultural taboos, such as menopause and menstruation. The panel also highlighted the importance of ensuring that younger generations – including our sons and daughters – are aligning with the gender equality agenda.

Challenges for the future: value proposition for attracting diversity and young talent in the financial and technological sector

This 2023 event, hosted by Insituto de Crédito Oficial in Madrid, featured speakers from the financial and technology industries (including Google, Eniax, eBay, BBVA and Santander) discussing the role of diversity in establishing best practice and value for the future of those industries.

Diversity and inclusion in a multi-cultural environment

Financial markets have ever been multicultural, multilingual and intergenerational, but our professional interactions have multiplied the opportunities to be confronted with practices whose social acceptability could differ. In this event hosted by Moody’s in Paris in 2022, the panel addressed how misunderstandings can arise when what may be considered appropriate behaviour for one culture is inappropriate for another, leading to misinterpretation, misunderstanding or even unintentional insult.

Speaker Spotlight: An audience with Clare Cole

Clare Cole of the UK FCA gave a powerful keynote at Allen & Overy in 2022 on the FCA’s efforts on diversity & inclusion, with a strong focus on neurodiversity, social mobility and educational diversity, including by reference to her own career experiences.

Tackling obstacles in women’s careers

This French webinar in 2021 focused on the role of the spouse in women's careers; reconciling motherhood and career progression and ensuring a salary equivalent to men for identical responsibilities. Tips and tricks to help women who want to climb the corporate ladder were shared in a roundtable which also discussed whether companies have developed a real inclusion strategy, and the effects of the health crisis and remote working.

Speaker Spotlight: Connecting the generations - a conversation with Allegra Berman

A virtual inter-generational conversation in 2021 exploring how the challenges facing women in finance have changed over time, citing shifts in culture and expectations, the importance of adaptability and resilience, and what the future may hold as the different generations weather the storm together and prepare for what’s next. 

Gender Lens Investing: A fresh perspective

At this event, hosted by White & Case in 2019, speakers from the asset management and investment industry gave their insights on a panel into how the diversity agenda is impacting investment strategy and business practices. They addressed how altering investor behaviour has the potential to effect meaningful change in the financial markets and discussed how this can drive forward diversity and inclusion in the economy.

Mental health in the city

This fireside chat hosted by Freshfields in 2019 focused on mental health in the challenging environment of financial markets, discussing the stigma which still exists around mental health in city workplaces, explaining the resources and support that are available and how to maintain mental wellbeing.

Sustainability: the perspective of influential women in the rapidly growing ESG market

This event held at HSBC in 2018 assembled a number of senior influential women in sustainable finance, those who provide thought leadership and are at the centre of innovation. They explored the impact of green bonds, social bonds, sustainable bonds and other innovative financing solutions on the finance industry and the workplace as a whole, as well as by reference to their own career paths.

Embracing change: future proofing your career with Fintech

Allen & Overy hosted this event in 2018. It set out to illuminate the world of FinTech, with a panel of female FinTech experts addressing questions such as: what does FinTech actually mean for the way debt capital markets will function in future? And what do we need to do now to position ourselves for career advantage in this exciting new environment? What are the barriers to entry to a FinTech-based career for women? Can we repurpose skills that we already have to be part of the revolution?

Challenging perceptions: Unconscious bias – how it affects networking & career progression

This event which took place at UniCredit in 2017 took a practical look at how unconscious bias may be subtly influencing our ability to make and maintain the contacts that we need to help us progress in our careers. Unconscious bias training has become a standard feature of workplace diversity programmes, but outside the formal office environment, is our tendency to make snap judgements based on stereotypes affecting the way we network? 

Getting noticed – a masterclass in using social media to build your personal brand

Howard Kingston shared his expertise at this event hosted by EBRD in 2017 on social media, explaining the importance of building a truly representative personal brand, raising personal profile and increasing visibility among colleagues, peers and across the industry. Howard demonstrated how to navigate the world of professional social media to maximum effect, imparting practical tips to get started and equipping the audience with the tools to effectively build a personal brand by way of social networking, LinkedIn, blogging and creating content.

Negotiation skills for women

Negotiation is a tool which we all use every day, without even realising it. In this negotiation workshop held in Paris in 2017, Vincent François, former crisis and hostage negotiator, explained negotiation techniques to ensure we don’t become destabilised at the first step.

Bouncing back – developing resilience at work

Resilience is often cited as the key attribute of successful businesspeople, and it has never been more important than in the current market environment. At this event, held in the Barbican in 2016, professional resilience coach, psychologist and author Jane Clarke explained the importance of resilience in a professional context, how it can help one to handle difficult situations and setbacks and, most importantly, how to develop resilience.

Speaker Spotlight: Julia Hoggett

Drawing on her own experiences working in a number of high-profile roles in both the private and public sector, Julia Hoggett (CEO of the London Stock Exchange and former Head of Wholesale Banking, Supervision Division, FCA), shared her views at Nomura in 2016 on the visibility and role of women in financial services, the importance of recognising the contribution made by women and how firms can develop a culture in which women can succeed and fulfil their potential.

Impact coaching

This event, hosted by Barclays in 2015, focused on practical tips for getting yourself and your ideas noticed at work and for making a positive impact when interacting with colleagues and clients, all in the context of career development in capital markets. A panel discussion with senior industry figures drawing on their own experiences and successful strategies was followed by an interactive session with Impact Coach Esther Stanhope. Esther demonstrated how to ooze confidence and upgrade our communication skills, sharing practical tips on how to craft content for the right audience and use body language, eye contact, gestures, vocal emphasis effectively. 

The current composition of the ICMA Women's Network Steering Committee is as follows:

Asia-Pacific

Thuy-Van Nguyen

Clearstream Banking S.A.
MENA

Nadia Zubairi
Bank ABC
Magali Moonen Belgium

Magali Moonen

Bank Degroof Petercam SA/NV
Nordic

Angela Brusas
Nordic Investment Bank and chair of the ICMA Women’s Network
France

Caroline Derocle
  
Euroclear Bank S.A./N.V.
South Africa

Mosidi Vilakazi

South African Reserve Bank
Germany

Cristina Freudenberger

White & Case LLP
Spain

Susana de Pablo

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A.
Ireland

Aisling Kelly
Arthur Cox
  Switzerland

Representative TBC
Italy

Nicole Della Vedova

Enel SpA
Jennifer Cresswell UK

Jennifer Cresswell

Allen & Overy LLP
Luxembourg

Isa Ribeiro

Clearstream Banking SA
West Africa

Sunmbo Olatunji
Access Bank
ICMA Zurich
T: +41 44 363 4222
Dreikönigstrasse 8
8002 Zurich

ICMA London
T: +44 20 7213 0310
110 Cannon Street
London EC4N 6EU
ICMA Paris
T: +33 1 8375 6613
25 rue du Quatre Septembre
75002 Paris

ICMA Brussels
T: +32 2 801 13 88
Avenue des Arts 56
1000 Brussels
ICMA Hong Kong
T: +852 2531 6592
Unit 3603, Tower 2
Lippo Centre
89 Queensway, Admiralty
Hong Kong
info@icmagroup.org (general enquiries)
education@icmagroup.org (education enquiries)
sustainabilitybonds@icmagroup.org (sustainable finance)
Copyright © 2024 International Capital Market Association.