Is Business Development (BD) in Insolvency & Restructuring practices more difficult for women? That was the question we posed in a survey for the Ladies Insolvency Professionals (LIPS)

The results were shared at LIPS 2024 networking lunch on July 10 in Sydney where 72 professionals gathered to discuss their experiences and build their networks.

34 Insolvency professionals, from New South Wales, completed the short questionnaire. 30% worked at the big end of town in firms with 200+ fee-earners; 15% were with firms of 50 to 200 earners; and just over half (55%) were in smaller and specialist firms including sole practices. All respondents were women.

The responses, evenly split between early career professionals and those with more than a decade’s experience, were consistent enough for us to draw some meaningful insights and prompts for future discussion.

Here’s what they said…

MOST OF US AGREE: WOMEN FIND BD MORE DIFFICULT

Consistent with research of other professional services firms, most of us believe BD is more difficult for women.  Just over two-thirds of respondents (67%) said they found it ‘more difficult’ or ‘much more difficult’ for women than men.

30% said it was equally difficult for men and women, while one respondent found it easier for her than men.

It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World

There’s no question about men’s dominance in the Insolvency sector - in specialist firms, practice teams, and lenders' credit departments. This dominance creates barriers for women building a practice, especially in cases when clients and referrers prefer to deal with men.

So, it’s no surprise most women feel the BD odds are against them right now.

It’s Not About You

First, a word about the ‘same-as-me’ effect (or affinity bias). It’s a predictor of human and workplace behaviour and, essentially, it means that people like people who are like them. So, when time-poor professionals doing knowledge-intensive work are under pressure it's natural for them to look for people they like (who are like them) because it gives the overworked brain a break.

As psychiatrist and Harvard Medical School instructor, Dr Edward Hallowell (2005), puts it:

“When you comfortably connect with a colleague, even if you are dealing with an overwhelming problem, the deep centres of the brain sends messages through the pleasure centre to the area that assigns resources to the frontal lobes. Even when you’re under extreme stress, this sense of human connection causes executive functioning to hum.”

I raise this because quite a few respondents mentioned a ‘boys club’ culture in Insolvency and Restructuring. Knowing these clubs are not about you is a productive place to start when building confidence in your business development efforts.

However, a challenge in terms of BD is that cliques exclude those ‘on the outer’ from informal conversations where important market intelligence is shared, and opportunities to establish client relationships are limited. Here are some of the experiences shared in the survey…

“In my experience, men more easily disclose industry intel to one another and are less likely to disclose these 'secrets' to women.”

“It is difficult to make connections with other women. Women are predominantly in more junior roles and don’t have much of an opportunity for generating work.”

“I have been asked to complete the work whilst the boys go out to network.”

“There are lots of male clients; it can be harder to relate/breakthrough.”

“I find that sometimes when I try to get a job in, the potential client is looking to speak to the person-in-charge - the man in the room - and doesn’t understand that I am the woman in the room.”

“Males tend to be more dominant in networking situations which makes it harder for women to be heard, recognised or valued.”

Before we get to what you can do, let’s not ignore the effect of gendered norms about parental duties …

Women Still Shoulder The Load

One of the themes from the comments supporting this question was that traditional BD (i.e. networking) favoured men, who often found it easier to engage in activities such as sporting events, long lunches and after-work drinks.

Some noted that this was often because professional women were still expected to carry a disproportionate load when it came to caring for family, making it difficult for them to engage in these social activities.

“A lot of events are at night and alcohol-based.”

On the flip-side others don’t try to match their male colleagues. Instead, they carve out opportunities that match their clients. More on this below.

“I still see men doing lunches and golf more than women. The female clients I work with aren’t usually keen for long lunches - they rather a quick coffee as most are also time poor.”

THE GOOD NEWS

The good news is that nearly 60% of respondents think that, over the past 5 years, BD is getting easier for women. More women are ascending to key buyer and influencer roles and there’s more focus on equity in the client and firm-side.

Perhaps the improvement in the ease of doing BD also reflects the changes in how we work and socialise since COVID-19?

FIVE WAYS WOMEN CAN THRIVE IN PROFESSIONAL NETWORKS

1.      You don’t need to mimic men's behaviour to be successful. Instead, invest in getting to know your own affinity groups of tomorrow’s clients and referral networks. As banks, regulators, and business boards make strides to re-set representation, you’ll be building networks in growing and even more influential markets of the future.

Read More: How Good Are Your Networks

2.      Invest more time* in building your reputation so your market knows you, your skill and the areas in which you specialise. Look for niches in your market and get to know them. Remember – the riches are in the niches!  

(*This might be time not spent on a golf course or at a long lunch.)

Read More: How to Market a Niche

3.      Concentrate on ‘Brand you’. Build your personal brand, polish your ‘small talk’ and hone your networking skills. After all these moments of interaction are the social currency that builds trust, opens doors and develops business.

Read More:
Working On Your Small Talk Could Pay Off Big Time
How To Do Social Events When You Really Don’t Want To
Your Personal Brand: Unlocking Your Greatest Asset

4.      Look for ways your perspective adds to your firm’s offer.

We don’t come up with our best ideas by doing the same old, same old. We do it by taking ourselves out of our comfort zone and seeing the world through other people’s eyes. And your point of view could break the group think that holds back progress.  

You could do this by contributing to project kick-off meetings in your firm (even if you’re not part of the official project team), collaborating in process reviews or recruitment campaigns, or being the independent ear in a client feedback meeting. As an ‘outlier’ to the Insolvency industry standards, you play an important role in accelerating new ways of thinking and sparking fresh ideas.

Read More: 7 Things Professionals Can Learn From Creatives

5.      Help the Next Gen and the Exhausted Heroes

Finally, I don’t have to tell you how important it is to have support for your career journey. So think about the early career professionals in your team and show them what they need to do to get where you are. And if you have a woman leader in your firm there’s a chance she’s an ‘Exhausted Hero’ (Adams C, 2022 : pg 58). Look for moments to acknowledge the value of her impact and abilities.

Creating a culture that supports those who don’t fit a stereotype isn’t just the right thing to do - it’s also the way you create a sustainable practice for a long time to come.

IN SHORT …

The majority of us believe women find BD more challenging than men. However, most also believe it’s getting better.

For many respondents, whether it can truly be equal seems to depend on having more women in positions of authority in client organisations and referral networks.

WANT MORE?

If you’d like more information on the survey or for Sue-Ella to speak to your firm on addressing the BD gap for women, get in touch or book a private 45-minute BD meeting (BD45).

REFERENCES & FURTHER READING

Adams C & Van Dusen L (2022) Understanding The Differences in Reactive and Creative Orientations Between Male and Female Leaders . Leadership Circle

Cullen Z & Perez-Truglia (2022)  The Old Boys Club: Schmoozing and The Gender Pay Gap, Harvard Business School

Devito A (2015) Why We’re Drawn to People Who Are Similar To Us, Pennsylvania State University, Psych 424 Blog

Prodonovich S (2021) The Power Of Working With People You Like

Hallowell E (2005) Overloaded Circuits: Why Smart People Underperform

Mos E (2024) Addressing Gender Inequality in the Insolvency Sector Jirsch Sutherland Blog

Chen C (2024) Insolvency Has A Gender Problem, Says Jirsch’s first Female Trustee, Accountants Daily (22/04/24).

King A (2012!) Insolvency Industry Needs to Focus on Gender Diversity, Australian Financial Review (29/08/12)