Women in Business: Representation, Mentoring, and Why a Seat at the Table Matters

Across industries, women are starting businesses at record rates, taking on senior roles, and shaping the next era of work. Progress is real, but uneven. In many sectors, leadership teams still don’t reflect the diversity of their customers or communities. In this blog we look at why representation matters beyond a headline, what practical mentoring looks like day-to-day, why stepping up for visible leadership roles - boards included - helps build stronger organisations, and how AAA is making sure we practice what we preach.

Representation changes the conversation

Representation changes the conversation. When decision-making groups include a wider mix of experiences, leaders ask better questions: Who benefits from this policy? Who might be overlooked? What happens to customers and staff when circumstances change? These aren’t “women’s issues”, they’re good-business issues. Broader perspectives reduce blind spots, improve risk management, and tend to produce choices that hold up better over time. Representation also signals what’s possible. When women - especially women from under-represented backgrounds - are visible in P&L roles, on boards, and in founder circles, pathways into leadership feel real. That matters for recruitment, retention, and the health of the talent pipeline.

Mentoring that’s embedded in the work

Real and invested mentoring is usually embedded in everyday work, not something that you make time for or set up a meeting in the calendar. It looks like thinking through a problem together rather than handing down a solution; explaining the trade-offs behind a decision so judgement compounds; giving specific, timely feedback; and sharing the “why,” not just the “what.” Over time, that style of mentoring lifts capability across the team and protects clients/customers, because fewer shortcuts get taken and more people know how to make sound calls under pressure. Sponsorship matters too. Mentoring is advice; sponsorship is advocacy. Putting your name behind someone at the right moment - inviting them into a key meeting, assigning meaningful responsibilities, sharing visibility - builds confidence, encourages further learning, and accelerates careers. It should be ordinary, not exceptional.

How AAA practices this every day

At AAA, this isn’t theoretical. Our owner and General Manager Melissa Ashcroft is outspoken about mentoring women in our industry and making space for them to do their best work. Commercial and asset finance have long been male-dominated; recognition often follows a long runway of consistent performance. Melissa’s path reflects that reality: years of steady delivery, active mentoring, and industry contribution while also juggling the very real demands of raising a young family. None of that is a headline; it’s the day-to-day. The point isn’t to claim perfection - it’s to keep showing that high standards and inclusive teams can (and should) coexist.

Why board service matters

Industry and company boards shape standards, strategy, and culture. Stepping up for these roles is about more than profile: it’s how you ensure the complexity of modern business - people, technology, regulation, customers - has informed voices in the room. For women, board service also creates a visible pathway for others and helps align governance with the realities of today’s workforce: flexible work, outcome-based roles, and inclusive progression.

Diversity and delivery go together

There’s a tendency to separate diversity from delivery, as if one is values and the other is performance. In practice, the two are linked. Diverse teams tend to surface risks earlier, stress-test ideas more effectively, and communicate in ways customers and stakeholders trust. Targets don’t replace execution; they strengthen it by building teams that can adapt across cycles.

What organisations can do now

What organisations can do now is straightforward.

• Design roles for outcomes, not optics - make flexibility real where the work allows.

• Make progression visible by publishing criteria and timelines; don’t penalise non-linear careers.

• Teach the work - problem framing, stakeholder management, commercial trade-offs.

• Normalise feedback that is specific, timely, two-way.

• Track and act - measure hiring, pay, and promotion outcomes, and close gaps quickly.

  
  

Keep the conversation moving

The wider conversation matters too. Change happens one decision at a time, but it helps to have places to compare notes, challenge assumptions, and learn from different domains. That’s one reason Melissa created the P.O.W.E.R. Podcast. This month’s conversation with Angela Priestley, journalist and co founder of Women’s Agenda, underscores how a broader lens - across media, workplaces, and leadership - shifts the frame for everyone: owners, managers, employees, and customers. The aim isn’t to lecture; it’s to listen, learn, and carry useful ideas into every part of your life - work, family, and your wider community and relationships.

What success actually looks like

Success isn’t a press release or a photo from an awards night. It’s a customer who understands their options and feels well served. It’s a team where more people can run the room with confidence. It’s a culture where standards are clear, judgement is shared, and careers grow because the work is designed to be done well. If more women are visible in that picture - in executive roles, on boards, and as founders - then that business is moving in the right direction. Clients and customers win first. The organisation wins next.

Consistency over grand gestures

None of this requires grand gestures. It asks for consistency: listen carefully, set the bar clearly, give feedback early, and share judgement generously. Keep the door open to people who haven’t followed the old template, and make sure they have the tools and runway to succeed. That’s the work Melissa keeps showing up for - mentoring women, pushing standards higher, and doing it while balancing a thriving family life - because the next decade should look better than the last. For her team, her daughters, and all the girls and women who are driven to make positive change.

Recognition that reflects the work

In true testimony to Melissa’s commitment to being a leader and advocate for representation, she is a finalist for three huge awards next month across two awards nights. On Thursday, 13 November 2025, the SFG (Specialist Finance Group) National Conference & Awards will see her as a finalist for both the Leadership Award and Mentor of the Year, recognising the quiet, steady work that lifts people and delivers outcomes. Then on Friday, 14 November 2025 at the Women in Finance Awards, she’s again a finalist for Commercial Finance Broker of the Year, a meaningful nod in a part of the industry that’s long been male-dominated. These shortlists reflect not just what she says, but what she does - leading the AAA business end-to-end, backing her team and working hard to see them succeed, and embedding representation and high standards in day-to-day decisions so clients get consistent results.

Our commitment

As a female-led business, we choose to be part of the solution - hiring for potential, making flexibility real, mentoring in the everyday, and backing the team to lead.