Asked what first drew her to a career in accountancy, Fiona Gray CA, Director at PwC, is refreshingly frank. “The honest answer is I didn’t really know what I wanted to do,” she laughs. “I studied accounting and computer science at university, but growing up I wasn’t surrounded by people who had these sorts of professional careers, so I didn’t necessarily know what that would then lead to.”

She was, though, enticed by PwC through “its mixture of accounting, IT and sustainability”. And 20 years on, she is still captivated. “I thrive when I’ve got something new to get my teeth into. PwC keeps me learning and keeps me interested because it gives me the opportunity to do different things with my career.”

This has included travelling to some 27 countries for work; three secondments (BAE Systems in 2008, BP in 2011 and her current one as an interim Head of Internal Audit at Zurich Insurance Group), as well as a permanent move from Glasgow to London in 2016. “I happened to be supporting a team in London on a short project, and from day one the partner there suggested I join them,” says Gray. “I got a really good feel for the leadership and for the team around me, which is one of the most important things for me in terms of my career. I made the move and have zero regrets.”

Taking on one new challenge after another, however, is not something Gray would have envisaged enjoying in her younger years. “I had a very good life but a very small one, prior to starting my career,” she says. “Even through university I still lived at home and I was someone who always needed to plan things out in advance.”

But on starting her ICAS training in the early 2000s, “I didn't have that luxury anymore,” she says. “I was constantly being thrown into new situations, whether it was a new type of work, a new client or a new team.” And while it was daunting at first, she adds, “by the end of my training contract, my skillset, and with it my confidence, grew exponentially. I became someone who knew that when something different was thrown at me I’d be able to pick it up and run with it.”

While Gray’s personal skillset, ability and drive have been pivotal in forging her path to director level, the people around her have played an important role in buffering her in times of need. “The intersection of being a woman and from a working-class background definitely contribute to that imposter syndrome and self-doubt,” she says. “But I have some fantastic cheerleaders around me who I can be honest and open with, and who can just talk everything through with me.”

Indeed, openness is perhaps one of the most important aspects of Gray’s leadership style today, and one that she believes is vital if we’re to see a change in the challenges women in particular face in the workplace.

“These ‘feminine’ qualities – like increased empathy, or emotional intelligence or looking after your team – are so incredibly important”

“I’ve seen the tone from the top throughout my career, and while I appreciate we’re working on it, we’ve still got a long way to go,” she says. “Because if I look back at those [female leaders] who came before us – and this is in no way a criticism of them because they did what they had to and they forged a path for us – quite often they had to change who they were to be included; to become one of ‘the boys’.”

Traits perceived as being more typically female, she says, weren’t considered valuable in the workplace, while stereotypically masculine traits were aligned with being successful as a leader. “But these ‘feminine’ qualities – like increased empathy, or emotional intelligence or looking after your team – are so incredibly important,” says Gray. “Now is the time to recognise that it’s not about pushing those down but really valuing those skillsets, allowing women to bring all of that into the workplace.”

Honesty in ourselves then, but in our conversations too, says Gray, will make a tangible difference to women’s working lives, not least from a financial perspective. “I had never thought about the gender pensions gap until another female leader brought it to my attention,” she explains.

“I’m not married and I don’t have kids, so in terms of who I am providing for, for now it is myself. Nonetheless the pay gap means that despite having worked just as hard and having the same qualifications as my male counterparts, I’m going to end up poorer in my retirement. Well, it just doesn’t seem fair.”

Of course, says Gray, we need to “increase the pace of closing the gender pay gap exponentially” to truly tackle this problem, but in the meantime, women must be educated on this issue. “I’ve been at events where the pensions gap has been raised and we’re all sitting around just stunned, having not thought of the issues around retirement,” she says.

“People in my generation are likely seeing our baby-boomer parents not having to worry too much in terms of finances, but that’s really not the case for us when we come to retirement.”