Dawn Marie Lamonica EXECUTIVE COACH | SPEAKER | RETREATS ​

Prime Beginnings - The First Issue!

Issue 1. Nov 2023

Welcome to the First Issue of the Prime Newsletter!

These are aimed to share knowledge & encourage dialogue. It is an evolving process so bear with me(1)

I thought to share the reasons why COMMUNITY, Female C-Suites, Partners & Founders gathering in person (or online) with consistency & strategy is so important NOW more than ever.

According to the a recent news article in the Standard - the gender pay gap for those in top Finance Roles in the UK is TWICE as large as in the US and Europe.

(I appreciate you may have just fallen off your chair, so you can get back into it - there’s more...)

Research Studies & Stats:

The 22nd of November 2023 was Equal Pay Day.

According to the November Fawcett Society report, on average, working women in the UK take home £574 LESS than men each month (£6888 p/a).

This means:

• At the current rate of change, the gender pay gap won't close until 2051—28 years from now
• Women aged 40 and older (those born before 1983) won't see the gender pay gap close before they reach State Pension age

Just 5 months earlier, in July 2023 – MPs launched an inquiry into barriers faced by women in Finance. The Committee “promised to examine” the progress made in removing gender pay gaps, and what role firms, the Government and regulators should play in combatting sexual harassment and misogyny. However, this wasn’t the first time the UK’s government looked into the issue.

In 2018 the previous Treasury Committee called for firms to encourage the progression of women in finance by “abolishing 'alpha-male' cultures, removing the stigma of flexible working” with senior men leading by example, and encouraging firms to publish strategies for closing gender pay gaps.

(When I read this, in comparison to the REALITY of what women face in 2023, the irony did give me a giggle).

​The Standard then followed up with an article noting women with job titles like head of finance manager and head of accounts earn just £77,000 for every £100,000 made by men.

These articles were BARELY mentioned in postings on LINKEDIN.

Why?

Why weren’t MORE people talking about it?

There was almost no buzz or outrage.

My opinion?

Because women in Finance are so exhausted (by the climb and the reality of the pressure at the top), the daily stress, that they are too tired to fight back or just wondering if change is even possible.

But I want to know what YOU think.

My question to all of you is…. Has anything changed since 2018?

If so, what?

Has anything changed since July 2023?

Are we seeing progress?

Was this political lip service to an extremely complex, persistent and cancerous problem or are we sitting on the precipice of change?

Yes, change is difficult.

But it is also necessary.

According to the July article the MPs will evaluate the industry’s progress on implementing the 2018 recommendations, as well as the impact of the Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter. (Dawn holds breath).

Ladies – we are all SMART, FIERCE, POWERHOUSES, there is no doubt that if we gathered to (candidly) talk through the reality of the issues facing so many women at the top – we could creatively come up with some strategies and ways to support each other.

Taking Care of your Health

PRIME is about Service, Community, Change & Health.

1. What to eat to decrease CORTISOL (the stress hormone) in this busy, manic holiday season

• Vitamin C Rich Foods- strawberries, citrus, peppers, guava, kiwi, papaya
• Magnesium-Rich foods – leafy greens, dark chocolate, nuts & seeds
• L-theanine-rich foods – green tea (MATCHA), oolong, white tea
• PRE -biotic rich foods – onion, garlic, oats, asparagus
• Vitamin B Rich Foods – legumes, leafy greens

2. Take a Walk

Many executives work 10-14 hour days at a desk and are such driven high achievers they forget to take a walk – properly just breathe outside and walk

Instead of your next meeting being in a meeting room (sitting like a sack of potatoes) – consider taking a walk with your colleague instead. The idea of walking and talking seems foreign to so many (because that is how society conditions corporate obedience) - BUT the benefits are tremendous...

Walking -

• brings more oxygen to your brain so that you can think more CLEARLY
• encourages your brain to work more CREATIVELY on problem solving (literally you will work smarter DURING & AFTER a walk – even if it is only 20 minutes)
• lowers your cortisol and adrenaline levels (stress hormones) and increases your ‘feel good’ neurotransmitters - pumping up your endorphins

3. SLOW it down

Whether it’s the frenetic pace of the city or the constant back to back commitments during holiday season - it becomes all too easy to be ADDICTED to the CONSTANT movement, the VELOCITY, the DOING, the PUSHING.

We often don’t even know we are addicted to it. The adrenaline and cortisol rush. When we stop the rush sometimes we think we are bored (there is neuroscience behind this but I won’t jump down that rabbit whole just yet here, patience Alice).

You are not bored.

You might just be addicted to velocity and the chemicals that course through your body under pressure. Your brain is addicted to it. But your body – well no one can run like a Cheetah 16 hours a day & not have aspects of their health catch up with them.

When you SLOW IT DOWN, when you say "NO" more often, when you delegate – you can MAKE ROOM for saying YES to the things you REALLY want to do (even if it is only to curl up with a book and read by yourself for 20 minutes).

I hope this little newsletter has lit a fire & added some Christmas Sparkle.

This is a time for lights of all varieties & purposes.

Light a spark.....