A few days ago, I delivered a keynote at the London Stock Exchange as part of the LSEG Trailblazers series. The theme was “Allyship,” and the room was filled with powerful women – mainly from Asian and other ethnic minority backgrounds – and men who showed up to offer their support.

The questions in the Q&A session and in the networking after made my heart sink – so much of what I was hearing was an echo of what women were calling out and seeking to change when I started in the City in 1996.

The Only One in the Room

Thirty years ago, when I first walked into a boardroom, I was the only woman. The only person of colour. The youngest. The quietest. And, according to some, the “luckiest.”

Women like me were told to be grateful, to fit in, to stay small and not rock the boat.

But I made a different choice. I refused to shrink. I chose to stand out, speak up, and name the micro-aggressions and silences. I chose not to see success as assimilation but as transformation. And I never forgot the people who made that journey less lonely – those who reached back, offered encouragement, or simply stood beside me when it counted.

Because no one climbs alone. Behind every breakthrough, there’s someone who said: “Keep going.”

Why Allyship Still Matters in 2025

We live in a world that still punishes women for being visible, vocal, and ambitious. And if you hold intersecting identities- black, brown, disabled, neurodivergent, queer – that punishment is compounded.

Allyship is how we resist that.

But let’s be clear: real allyship isn’t a hashtag or a headline. It’s not about speaking over someone or performing empathy when it’s convenient. It’s about lending your credibility so others can be heard. It’s hiring someone not because they “fit in,” but because they challenge the culture for the better. It’s knowing when to speak, and when to step aside.

It’s about showing up when it’s uncomfortable and staying when others walk away.

Allyship Beyond the Office

Too often, we confine allyship to the workplace. But it must go deeper. It must reach into our homes, our communities, our cultural and faith spaces. Because for many from ethnic minority backgrounds, breaking barriers at work can also mean facing resistance at home.

Choosing a career path outside the expected – outside the expected lawyer, doctor, or teacher – can trigger silence, disapproval, or outright backlash. Success can feel isolating when it doesn’t match the version others were taught to expect from you.

This is the double bind many women face – fighting to be seen at work while also fighting to be understood at home. We need allies who get this. Who recognise that visibility isn’t just about being seen—it’s about being accepted for who you truly are, in all spaces.

Resilience Needs Reinforcement

I’m often asked about resilience. It’s become a buzzword, especially for women in leadership. But here’s the truth: resilience isn’t a solo sport. It’s reinforced in community.

Allyship and resilience are two sides of the same coin. One helps you keep going; the other makes sure you don’t have to go it alone. It’s the friend who stays on the call after a setback, the colleague who steps in when you’re being side-lined, the leader who gives you space instead of stealing your voice.

We don’t need more superheroes / superwomen, we need more sidekicks. People who pass the mic. Who listen. Who stay in the room when it’s hard.

Rethinking Success With Allyship – Who Did You Bring With You?

Success isn’t just about climbing the ladder. It’s about who you pull up with you as you climb.

We’re conditioned to treat success as a solo mission. But what if we judged it differently? What if we asked ourselves:

Whose voice did I amplify?

Who did I mentor, support, or make space for?

Who did I bring with me?

Allyship reframes success as collective progress. It’s not just about what you build, but who you build it for, and how you use your platform to make room for others.

 

Economic Allyship: Where Real Power Lives

At MoneyShe, we believe economic power is not optional, it’s foundational. Because without financial independence, everything else – freedom, safety, choice – remains fragile.

 

While the gender pay gap gets attention, the gender wealth gap is even more dangerous and less discussed. Here’s what we know:

• In the UK, women retire with 35% less pension wealth than men.
• Globally, women own less than 20% of the world’s wealth.
• Fewer women invest than men, and those who do often start later and focus on low-growth assets like cash.

This is not just a confidence issue, it’s systemic. It’s a result of women being excluded from wealth-building systems for generations.

Let’s not forget, it wasn’t until 1975 that women in the UK could open a bank account without a man’s signature. It’s shocking that in March 2025; President Trump signed an executive Order that would require men to sign for a woman to get access to financial products!

Today women still face barriers to capital, business loans, and access to financial services, investment and pension products.

These are not personal failings. These are structural issues. And it takes allyship to dismantle them.

 

What Does Economic Allyship Look Like?

Economic allyship is about using your privilege, platform, or position to expand women’s financial power. It can include:

• Normalising conversations about money—earning, investing, negotiating—in workplaces, homes, and communities.
• Calling out gender bias in financial services and leadership.
• Creating inclusive financial products designed for women’s real needs – not just pink versions of existing tools.
• Implementing pay transparency and robust parental leave policies.
• Offering mentorship that goes beyond career advice and includes financial literacy and investing.

 

When women have money, they have choices. Choices to leave toxic jobs, start businesses, support their families, and build generational wealth.  Economic power that gives women the freedom to say no to what diminishes them and yes to what defines them.

 

Why I Started MoneyShe

That’s exactly why I launched MoneyShe – to close the gender investment and pension gaps by helping women start investing from their first paycheque.

Not just to grow their wealth, but to grow their confidence.

We offer tools, education, and support so that women don’t have to do this alone. Because investing isn’t just about returns, it’s about reclaiming power.

We’re not here to survive our careers. We’re here to thrive in retirement.

 

The Future Is Not Pre-Written

We are living through a time when women’s rights, voices, and autonomy are under threat. It’s tempting to lose heart. But the truth is: the future isn’t fixed. We write it through our actions.

More than ever, we need allyship that is not performance, but practice.

Whether you’re a CEO or an intern, a parent or a policymaker, your allyship could be someone else’s turning point.

You don’t need a cape. Just the courage to stand beside someone when it counts.