Kanini Mutooni is proof that women with MBAs can carve out a successful career in the finance sector, although she acknowledges that it can be difficult.

Mutooni, who graduated from Cass Business School, is head of internal audit at Kleinwort Benson, the private bank. She says the financial world can be an uncomfortable environment in which women struggle to get over their views and ideas. “You have to feel confident enough and be competitive enough to air your opinions when you may be the only women in the room.

“With financial services, and specifically investment banking or private banking, a lot is transaction driven. If you do not make a transaction happen or a deal happen, it means you are not going to get your bonus. And, if you do not make those transactions, somebody else will.”

However, there are advantages to being a woman working in the sector. “You bring your emotional and feminine qualities as well,” she says. “I think that the perfect woman to walk into financial services is somebody who has that competitive streak and understands the need to get a deal done but, at the same time, has that softer side. You have to have the balance.”

Attracting women into banking and finance is just part of the challenge, Mutooni says. They must also be encouraged to stay long enough to move into senior leadership positions.

“You have to create an environment so they stay there. This includes having more flexible working arrangements. If women feel that they can work in a bank, make a contribution and go home and have a family life, I think more would go into banking.”

Redressing the gender imbalance in senior positions may take some time but it is worth the effort, Mutooni believes. “Women have a more balanced approach to risk-taking. I am convinced that if we had women chief financial officers and chief executives, the banks would have ended up taking a lot less risk. And we probably would not be where we are now.”