Here’s how our colleagues are making an impact their own way, embracing equity as role models who recognize their achievements, dictate what good work-life balance looks like for them, and break free of the expectation to be perfect or superhuman to be successful.
What success looks like at Oliver Wyman
Nidhi Agarwal
Partner
When members of her team are held back by imposter syndrome, Nidhi works with them to embed reminders of their strengths, achievements, and why they truly deserve to be where they are today. For herself, Nidhi has overcome the idea that she has to be all things to everyone, all of the time, and accepted that she is good enough the way she is.
Emeline Alfandari
Marketing Manager
From a young age, Emeline assumed that her achievements were down to luck or the kindness of others. She doubted that with multiple learning difficulties she could ever succeed in the corporate world. While her career did advance, she saw that not everyone was judged fairly – particularly assertive women like her – so made sure to surround herself with people who believed in her value.
Rana Nawas
Partner
After a previous employer asked her to soften her confident communication style, Rana strongly believes that professional performance reviews should only ever be made against specific, objective metrics. She also encourages leaders and managers to disregard self-assessments, as research shows that women routinely under-rate their performance while men over-rate theirs, and this can influence even well-intentioned evaluators.
Shuping Koh
Principal
When Shuping first chose to work part-time to focus on family, she still put pressure on herself to keep pace with her peers’ career progression. But pushing hard on all fronts took the fun out of both work and family time, so for ten years Shuping chose to prioritize her children. Now they are older she is diving back into work and enjoying a new stage of her career.
Dominique Desroches
Associate
Dominique has always been an overachiever. She strove for perfect grades in school, invests heavily in building healthy relationships, and excels in a demanding job. This has created a full but sometimes overwhelming life. So, while Dominique still pursues her ambitions, she has put boundaries in place to prevent any one element from taking over and gives herself grace when things don’t go to plan.
Severine Huin
Associate Director
The transition into consulting was tough for Severine, who had spent the previous 15 years of her career in the automotive industry. The constant travel and high-pressure, fast-moving projects made her feel insecure and self-conscious. It took the help of friends, family, and co-workers to remind Severine that she was talented, successful, and deserving of her achievements.
Julia Li
Specialist
When Julia was at school, she assumed she did well in exams only because she was lucky. It took a friend to point out that she was smart, worked hard, and deserved credit for doing well. It’s something Julia still reminds herself of today, and when she works with new graduates makes sure that they try believe in themselves in moments of doubt.
Shaheen Currimjee
Senior Consultant
Shaheen aspires to define herself and her happiness in ways beyond career and money. She knows that the best version of herself is when she slows down and reconnects with her inner child, bringing laughter, curiosity, and playfulness into her day. If work gets her down, Shaheen takes inspiration from her past achievements, reminding herself that she is someone who can overcome challenges.
Samantha Thebas
Senior Human Capital Manager
Like many women, Samantha has had moments where her confidence was shaken. Rather than getting stuck on a treadmill of perfectionism, Samantha recommends trying to be the best version of yourself and measure your worth on your own terms. To support this in her own life, she surrounds herself with people who hold similar values to her own and who can challenge her.
Adina Ciobotea
Actuarial Partner
Adina believes that each person can have it all, but only when each one gets to define what that means on their own terms and against their own values. Still today, too many women are asked to meet standards and live life based on society’s expectations.
Many organizations will argue that they place the same performance expectations on women as they do men. But when entire organizations and all senior roles have historically been designed around male archetypes, it can be harder for women to meet these standards.
This, together with the pressures from wider society – where women are expected to be caregivers and homemakers – creates the glass ceiling, a level beyond which women feel they can’t progress. To break through, women must be extraordinary. This must change.
So, in addition to providing transparency on what their performance expectations are, leaders need to ensure these requirements are free from bias. They should make available support to those in underrepresented groups who may face additional biases.
At Oliver Wyman, we #EmbraceEquity by doing this and more.
Our career review and promotion systems recognize that good performance doesn’t have to be defined against what others have done historically to progress. We recognize individuals, their circumstances, and personal goals.
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