An Audience With

HSBC’s Joanna Munro: ‘I never thought being female mattered. Then the penny dropped’

The chief executive of HSBC Alternatives says she was fortunate to have nannies, a stay-at-home husband and bosses that cared about her family time

One of the City’s top women in asset management talks flexibility and her message for the next generation
One of the City’s top women in asset management talks flexibility and her message for the next generation Illustration: Danilo Agutoli

Joanna Munro returned to work after the birth of her second child when she became aware of how some of her colleagues viewed being a mother. 

“My line manager at the time had my best interests at heart, but he didn’t put me forward for an opportunity he really should have,” Munro says. “He said: ‘You’ve got a new baby, I assumed you didn’t want to travel’. Then the penny dropped that actually people were looking at me differently.” 

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