Women are Shaping Compliance in Credit

When I was at university in Madrid over 20 years ago, no one spoke about compliance. It was a career path that didn’t exist, so it was by pure luck that I found myself in this professional space. And I’ve learned it’s a great field for women. 

I got started specialising in tax. After serving as Head of Tax at BNP Paribas Securities Service, I joined a private equity firm. There, I extended my expertise and knowledge to other regulatory functions and industries. I may not have realised it at the time, but it was the beginning of a two- decade career as a compliance executive. 

Through it, I’ve learned the importance of relationships and having a good and diverse team to help you reach your goals. 

The compliance needs of Europe’s credit industry have only grown since then. More companies across Europe are taking on more responsibility to meet more compliance requirements than ever before. We see it in the increase in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting in recent decades and in the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) giving rise to new positions like Data Protection Officer (DPO). 

This evolution of compliance requirements is both a challenge and an opportunity. As the need for stronger compliance functions grows, so too does the opportunity for capable women in the credit and legal fields to fill those roles and develop thriving careers.

Women can make a significant impact in risk and compliance roles and this is recognised within Cabot. We bring diverse perspectives, views and experiences adding great value to the field. Looking back in my career, it was not easy breaking into the newly created compliance field as a woman in the early 2000s. I encountered bias about my abilities, as well as colleagues making unfair assumptions about my needs as a working mother. I had to prove time and time again that my career was not about those things. It’s about responsibility, being compliant with the law, and adding value to the business. It’s also about professional competence and soft skills like building relationships and collaborating with others. 

I always had a plan for advancing my career, however, so these challenges didn’t block my path. But they happened at a time when I’d hoped things would be different for women. 

Today, there are hopeful signs that this kind of bias will not deter more women from entering the compliance field. In 2020, 44% of lawyer members of the bar in Spain were women, according to the Council of the Bars and Law Societies of the European Union (CCBE). While there is still work to do to reach parity in male-to-female representation, close gender pay gaps and ensure equal opportunities for women, the compliance world offers women a place to build promising careers and serve as the ethical heart of our organisations.

Elevating women to these roles also gives companies an edge in working toward the EU’s new quotas for corporate boards. With the new requirement that 40% of non- executive board seats be taken by women by 2026, or 33% of executive and non-executive roles combined, the compliance function is a key area where companies can attract female employees to nurture good careers and work toward leadership roles.

I’ve seen first-hand how compliance can elevate women in the credit industry, and I’m proud that my career has led me to a company like Cabot Credit Management (CCM). Building a compliance function for the company in Spain is one of the achievements of which I am most proud. 

I enjoy mentoring others and have worked with students at various Spanish universities teaching compliance and data protection and feel it’s a privilege to influence these upcoming generations. I am endeavouring to build on this experience with my team at CCM sharing my knowledge and experiences with them.

I would say to other women interested in compliance careers to make a plan, set short-term objectives and never give up. It’s a rewarding profession, and one where we can make a difference for our colleagues, our companies and society as a whole.