Expanding Financial Planning firm Progeny has launched a Women in Professional Services Forum to build a community of female spokespeople and leaders within the firm.

The firm said gender equality starts from the inside out and it hopes that its new forum will help the firm better understand the issues that women are concerned and passionate about.

The forum includes a range of women across the business, in terms of age, role and seniority, and held its first meeting in June.

It will also offer members practical support with skills such as networking, media and camera training, leveraging social media platforms and PR opportunities.

Amy Tyley, chief marketing officer at Progeny, said the response to the forum internally has been positive and the forum has already identified a number of areas that people are keen to focus on, including the lack of meaningful financial education in schools and universities, the visibility of certain sectors as a career choice for women and the particular challenges that maternity leave and juggling childcare still presents for women in the workplace.

She said Progeny’s multi-disciplinary business model, which encompasses Financial Planning, investment management, tax services, property, HR and legal counsel, puts the firm in unique position to be able to engage with women across a breadth of professional services.

Ms Tyley said: “According to a recent ‘Women at Work’ report, women today don’t need to be told to believe in themselves as they already do, but what they do need are practical skills, actionable training and role models in senior positions. This is exactly what our forum aims to help provide.”