Celebrating our female colleagues for International Women's Day with Danielle Le Blancq

International Women’s Day is annually marked on 8^th March and is a global day that celebrates the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. It also serves as a call to action for accelerating gender equality. International Women's Day is an opportunity to reflect on progress made, to advocate for change, and to support women's rights and empowerment worldwide.

This year’s theme, #AccelerateAction calls for rapid advancements in gender equality. It focuses on recognising strategies and tools that drive women's progress in education, employment, and leadership. This theme encourages collective efforts from governments, organisations, and individuals to remove barriers and foster an environment of equal opportunities for women.

To celebrate International Women’s Day, we have interviewed three of our female colleagues, asking them about their career journey, what it is like being a woman working in finance, and what this day means to them.

Hear from Danielle Le Blancq, Senior Manager at Fairway:

How do you prepare for your working day ?
My day starts early, aiming to be in the gym for around 6am. I am definitely a morning person, and a work-out first thing really sets me up for the day. It’s quickly become a non-negotiable for me in my health and wellbeing routine! After the gym it is straight home to get ready for work and start my day. Currently I walk to work, although as the Dubai summer approaches, this 35 – 40 minutes’ walk won’t be possible, but for now I like to use the daily commute to get those daily steps in. 
My next priority is always hydration, so I enjoy a coffee and a water while sorting through my daily calendar, priorities and respond to any emails from the day before. For me, organisation is key to ensuring I can keep up with my workload and be able to cope when those high-pressure situations that come along.  I have various lists and reminders to keep me focused and on track!

What has been the most rewarding part of your career so far?
The most rewarding part of my job is building relationships with people, whether it’s with colleagues, clients or intermediaries. It can also be the hardest part, but I think it’s all part of the journey!

How do you balance leadership responsibilities with personal life?
Balancing these two priorities can be difficult, but I am lucky enough to be in a job I very much enjoy. Being a leader means being part of a team, so if a slightly longer day is needed to support the team, I don’t need to think twice about it.

What advice would you give women considering a career in finance?
I think it’s great, it empowers you to take control of your own life with the knowledge and skills you learn through the experience gained on this career path. I’ve always been a numbers person, but even if this does not come naturally to you, being in this environment inspires you to learn more, which you can apply to your own personal circumstances. Also, it’s not all numbers related, a large proportion of my job is about building relationships, highlighting the balance of skills required for my role, which I feel I am well suited to.

What initiatives or changes would you like to see to support more women in leadership?
While progress has been made, senior leadership roles are still often perceived as being male-dominated, and I’d love to see greater representation of women on boards. Initiatives that support career acceleration and create earlier opportunities for leadership roles could help foster a more balanced and diverse leadership landscape.

Have you had any female mentors or role models who influenced your career?
I’ve had a few! I started my career in a nearly all female team and pretty much throughout my career, those who I have really looked up to and admired, have been female.

What does International Women’s Day mean to you?
It is an annual reminder of the progress women have made in society and a celebration of their collective achievements. It provides inspiration for future women leaders to continue to support each other and strive forwards in whatever it is they want to achieve in life.