It’s International Women’s Day this Friday 8th March and to show our support, we are featuring some fantastic women across the Sugarman Group business every day this week.
Our colleagues are sharing their experiences of work, their inspirations and talking about their career journey.
Today we feature Danielle Secker, Executive Assistant at Sugarman Group.
What is your current role & what does it entail
Executive Assistant – My role entails a bit of everything to be honest, I always get lost when people ask what I do because it’s such a varied role, no day is the same! I guess the overall way to describe it would be providing executive support to the Senior Management Team and overseeing the Office Management in Fenchurch St.
Where did your career begin (e.g Apprenticeship, College, Uni)?
My career actually started a couple days after I left school! I’d applied to go and study sports at college but took a summer job at the business where my Auntie and Mum worked (also did my work experience here). Two days before I was due to start college they offered me a full time job so I decided to take the job instead of going to college, I don’t regret that decision one bit! I remember looking at the EA’s in that business and thinking, that’s what I want to do! And look now….!
How have you found being a woman, working in your sector?
I worked in Financial Services for years before I came into Recruitment, I find Recruitment is a lot more diverse than Financial Services in terms of the male to female ratio. Sugarman / Cordant in fact, probably has more women in Senior roles than any other business I have worked in, however, I do believe there is still work to be done to become more equal.
What are the current challenges for women in business/society?
Although I do think the times are changing and women are starting to be respected and heard more, there are still every day challenges. I think women are still judged on image, much more than men, this is something I have personally felt for a long time and still do now. We have to be more conscious of what we wear or how we do our make up etc, this is not just at work but in everyday life.
I think it would be fair to say that at some point in our lives we have been made to believe or feel that men are stronger and more dominant than women but as I mentioned above, times are changing and I think people’s mindsets are starting to change on this!
Which women have inspired you throughout your life?
To be honest, (and this may sound a little cliche), my inspirations have never been ‘famous’ women, my inspirations have always been more close to home. From a career perspective, when I was growing up I used to always say ‘I want to be a business woman like Auntie Lisa’. She was one of very few Senior Directors in the business I worked for in my first job and she held her own! I am sure she has (and was at the time) facing the struggles that all women in business face but she came across so strong that you wouldn’t have even known – that to me is really powerful and I admire her for that. On a more personal side, my Grandma was always someone I aspired to be like, such a selfless person who lived for her family, she put everyone before herself and was just a genuine happy and caring person (I also get my love for gin from her!)
