As the conversation around diversity grows louder, meaningful change is taking shape. We sat down with Finsure’s Fatima Dib to explore how gender diversity is transforming Australia’s broking industry, unlocking flexibility and limitless opportunities for women.
Q. How long have you been in broking and why did you join the industry?
I’ve been in the industry for over 25 years overall, about 18 years in mortgage broking. It really came from a place of survival. I became a single mum and needed to make some changes to support four children under the age of six, both financially and emotionally.
I realised it would be difficult to maintain a corporate career, which I had before – I was an accountant in the corporate sector. So I asked myself, “How can I work between the school drop-off at 9:30 and school pick-up at 2:30, and still optimise that time to make the income we needed to survive?”
Looking back, I wish someone had been there to let me know about the opportunities available. I hadn’t considered mortgage broking; I’d looked into bookkeeping and other traditional roles for parents. It wasn’t until I consulted for a mortgage broker that I saw the opportunity.
Q. How did you find juggling a young family and your own business?
Time management is important, but I think energy management is more important – conserving my energy and placing it in the right places. Having time management is great, but if you’re not in the moment and you’re not invested, then it’s not management at all.
I was very proactive in understanding when family time was and what that meant and ensured that I was in the moment. And then when I was on, I was on.
Q. Do you think the broking industry is appealing enough for women?
The issue isn’t just about appeal – it’s systemic. There’s a lack of visibility of women in the industry, limited mentorship or sponsorship opportunities, and unconscious bias.
The job itself offers a lot of flexibility, but the workforce doesn’t always reflect that. Women might enter the industry thinking it offers flexibility, but then find that the organisation they joined doesn’t have structured flexibility in practice. That’s probably one of the biggest issues.
Also, you can’t be what you don’t see. We don’t celebrate women enough or their achievements. There’s also this mentality that women need to earn their seat at the table.
We already have a seat at the table. We never really should have had to earn it.
Q. You’re co-chair of Women in Finsure. What is that group, and what do you do?
We believe in the potential of diversity. I think that’s reflective of Finsure itself. We are almost 50/50 split in terms of our staff here and we do live and breathe the Women in Finsure ethos.
We run different types of masterclasses with our lenders to ensure that there is structured learning with complex deals or usually areas of finance that women will shy away from.
[We aim to remove] barriers like the fear, the sense of self or (the good one that most women once in their lifetime will chat about) imposter syndrome that often gets a lot of us.
Q. How does the Women in Finsure scholarship work?
It allows women in the industry and outside of the industry to apply and it basically addresses all the barriers. So we sat down and we went: “Okay, well, why are they not entering the industry and why are they not staying in the industry? Because they love it and they do well.”
The scholarship covers the education piece and the cost around the education piece, because cost to women sometimes is a barrier, particularly if they’re returning to work or if they just don’t have the means or they’re changing careers, for example.
It also covers mentoring from other women who are also mortgage brokers or in leadership roles, as well as our CEO Simon Bednar. [Scholarship winners] aer able to sit within our academy and get all the learnings and be ready for mortgage broking.
We also set them up business-wise. We do assist them in getting all their branding up, their websites, their presence so that they can get started and continue to receive support.
Q. How can individual brokers make the industry more diverse?
By instigating change, seeing an opportunity, and, if you’re the person that can propel that, then do it. Speak up and sponsor, and also share your stories and journey.
You can’t be what you don’t see. So share your journey, share the challenges, share the wins, celebrate the successes, but keep talking about it.
Tune in to hear more!
Find out more about how Finsure is driving diversity in the In Focus podcast episode, ‘Building a diverse broking industry’ here”
Click here to listen on your device
