Happy International Women’s Day! An interview with Legal & General’s leading women, Clare Beardmore and Jodie White

Clare Beardmore is the Director of Legal & General’s Mortgage Club, the first woman to have undertaken this role. Clare has over 20 years’ experience in the industry and has balanced motherhood with an incredibly successful career. 

Jodie White is the Head of Mortgage Products & Transformation at Legal & General. Joining the company in the midst of the 2008 financial crisis, Jodie has made her way up the ladder to L&G’s senior leadership team. 

We had the pleasure of sitting down with both Clare and Jodie in honour of International Women’s Day, to discuss gender equality within the industry and their upcoming appearance at FSExperience.

Jodie, you began your career in 2008, that is one hell of a year to start working in financial services, what was that like? 

JW: I worked on the Help Desk at that point, so we had advisors ringing into our help desk with cases. We all know that advisors that work on their own or in really small teams. To be honest, a lot of the time we were kind of a bit of a shoulder to cry on for a lot of advisors, they really needed our support.  

We forged really good relationships with the team and Claire’s still got that team to this day, mortgage support services, and they’re still there to help advisors.  

We’ve thrived since 2008, in terms of where we’ve come to as a company, but also as individuals. I think advisors have done exactly the same thing; I think they will again with what we’re seeing now. I think that’s why I personally love financial services, because it bounces back. 

How different would you say it is today, for a woman starting in the mortgage industry than it was for you when you guys joined? 

CB: I think it’s different. I’ve worked in financial services around about 23 years and you do see that there are more women in the industry. I feel that a big change that’s been really important is around flexible working. I know when I had my first child I was literally categorically told don’t ask for flexible working hours. It was a customer facing role, so, I probably understood that at the time, but that conversation wouldn’t happen now. 

I think things are better. But are they perfect? No. I think I think particularly in our industry in the last two or three years, there’s been a lot more focus and, and that’s been led by AMI (Association of Mortgage Intermediaries). It’s been led, I think a lot by men as well, I think that’s what’s made a real difference. It’s not just females, but it’s actually men saying equality is important. And I think that’s made a real difference. 

JW: Yeah, no, I completely agree. I think when I was young, in the early 80s, a lot of women I knew didn’t work full time or at all. I feel like the landscape of everything has changed. People must work now amid the cost-of-living crisis. So, I do feel like women are starting to think about their careers and are maybe having children early with the mindset of then going into a career or having a career and having children later or even not deciding not to have them at all. And again, that’s more of a choice now. Before, I feel like that choice wasn’t always for everyone.  

How important is allyship within the mortgage industry?  

CB: Jodie and I have come on a journey together. And it’s important that you’ve got relationships like that at your level with people you feel safe with, because we don’t agree on everything, but we’ve always got each other’s backs.  

I think it’s important women have got each other’s backs in this industry. I think the kind of dog-eat-dog you can sometimes see is destructive. If you’re against each other, how do you move forward? And how do you make a stronger workforce?  

JW: How do you send the lift back down for people? I love that analogy, like, what can we do to try and find the way for other people to do the same thing. But our boss is really, supportive of both of us, because I think what he does recognise is the sort of diverse opinions that women bring into his team. And he absolutely champions that and, we, as working mothers, have got that flexibility as an employer as well. But he sees that as an asset rather than a hindrance. 

This question is a classic, what advice do you have women in the industry who are looking to break through to senior roles? 

CB: I think, for me, it is always be yourself, be true to who you are, the best thing about you is you don’t change be who you are. Be really strong, because it’s tough. And it is very tough. If you’re a man or a woman. So be strong, be ready for it. And then I think the ally, surround yourself by people who will absolutely have your back and champion you every day of the week, and you champion and have their backs and work together to really make a difference. 

JW: Staying true to yourself is a big one, I think people can really get lost; you’re lost in your own way. And you start to behave a certain way, because you think that’s how you should behave.  

We’ve all got this vision that you’ve got to speak the Queen’s English and, if you want to deal with that, that’s fine. But also, if that’s not for you don’t do it. You should have your seat at the table.  

So, I think for me, it’s all of that and just recognise your own potential, like, what are you good at, but everybody’s got strengths and everybody’s got weaknesses as well. And just go with what you got out and see where it leads you. I suppose it’s the leap of faith, isn’t it? 

What is it that drew L&G to sponsor FSExperience? What made you want to be a part of the event? 

JW: For me technology is where myself and my team’s focus. FSExperience is just a little bit different for us in terms of the traditional sort of events that we attend. It set up much more for a tech company.  

We speak to a lot of different people at these events because it draws different types of advisors in different areas, and just how we’re able to showcase what we do, I think is perfect for your setup. 

I think it’s just how it’s set up in terms of the presentations are short and sound bites. And I do like that, that people can come and go as well, which again, people haven’t got four hours to sit in an event. Always it might be the nip in and speak to certain people and leave and that’s fine as well. 

If you would like to meet Jodie & Claire, join them at FSExperience London this April and claim your complimentary ticket here.