Inga Beale

"Often [as a leader] someone is demanding of you; they want it done next week, in two months or whatever"

"“Criticism comes at women leaders from more angles than men – there is now data showing that microaggressions in the workplace are higher against women than men.”"

"I have taken on several CEO roles in my life and some organisations have required a turnaround or a huge transformation. To have people focus on your leadership skills, your experience and the great things you have achieved, rather than the way you look or a small mistake you have made, would have made it much easier."

""I got a lot of my strength and support not only from my family but also from women’s networks – a source of inspirational energy to keep going.”"

"“The golden rule is to keep communicating – 1. Communicate the business case; 2. Communicate it’s the right thing to do; 3. Communicate that you mean it.""

"“The PIE model is one that I totally buy into. It stands for Performance, Image and Exposure. These are the three elements that are essential for your career development.""

"“Believe in your own ability – I was so under confident that I even said ‘no’ to the first promotion I was offered.”"

"“Although it’s easier than it used to be for people to come out as LGBTQ+ at work, it’s still hard.”"

"I chose to come out as bisexual just prior to starting at Lloyd’s of London so I know how it feels to be different. I am glad I have been honest because it had begun to feel like I was lying to the people around me."

"I know it’s impacted people’s decisions about inviting me and my partner to events and it has made me feel uncomfortable meeting politicians representing countries where homosexuality is illegal."

"Find somewhere to work where the culture, values and behaviours align with your own."

"If you have to pretend to be someone you aren’t for too long, it will poison you from inside."

""If you want to be a creative, innovative, successful business, you embrace diverse talent, and you create an inclusive environment. It's the only way to be successful in the long term. Not one part of the community can do this on their own; it can only be done together.”"

""It's only by sharing your own experiences that other people can get a glimpse into what it's like for people who are different to you.”"

"There's been a huge change for women in senior positions. Some of this has been about signing up to things like the 30% Club, where a lot of boards have agreed to commit to having a third of their directors as females."

"When I took the role of CEO, I was basically running the entire ma"

"Let’s use the words people are uncomfortable using – lesbian, gay"

"“If we are leaders, we try to give the answers all the time instead of spending time asking people how they are feeling"

"It is pretty similar to being the CEO of a public listed company but you’ve got to get thousands of people to do what you want without them being your employees. That was a really tough challenge"

"It’s not about me. It’s about what you do for other people. For me, it’s so important because you need these role models."

"I said ‘I’m coming out, I can’t live with this’"

"What you do is, you de-genderise every statement you make. You’re in a business environment; you de-gender everything, You never say he or she. You do it constantly. All these little things, that if you haven’t experienced you just wouldn’t appreciate. And suddenly you can be free"

"It’s interesting, they feel awkward. That’s why when I talk about this I say let’s use the words that people are uncomfortable using – lesbian, gay."

"“I tried to be something I wasn’t. I behaved like a man.”"

"“I gave a clear instruction to my partner not to phone me in the office because I was so worried about my colleagues suspecting that I was having a relationship with a woman.”"

"“I decided to come out during the interview process so that I wasn’t going into it with any secrets. I just brought it up with the group CEO and he was fine. You think, why did it take so long? That’s why I encourage everyone to do it.”"

"“You spend half your energy hiding the reality, leading a dual life, making excuses. There’s a lovely story about someone in the industry who was born male and was male at work but had a female persona in her personal life. She was outed because of technology linking Facebook photos and her iPhone. After years of being a man at work but actually being a woman it was fantastic. Everybody was supportive; she’s never looked back.”"

"“People are a bit reluctant to reveal what is going on in their world. And others are nervous talking about it because they don’t know what to say and don’t want to look silly.”"

"“It’s good to have someone completely different to you to chat about things with.”"

"“People don’t know who to trust any more. So, we’ve got to find another mechanism to include much bigger parts of the population, and use different metrics to measure success of a country.”"

"I can remember, it was in the 1990s and I had been working in the insurance for about 14 years and I was offered my first promotion. This was going to be the first time I was going to manage one person at work, and do you know what? I said'No'."

"I look back at that 32-year old Inga, and I don't recognize her now-but that was how under-confident I was. I don't think I was ready or good enough to take the job."

"If we can get this gender thing right, we can then get it right for all sorts of other groups that feel perhaps marginalized or under-represented, particularly in the senior levels in the workplace."