Professional Relativity
About Amelie Laing
Dr. Amelie Laing is a Managing Director at Credit Suisse, who has had senior roles in real estate, risk, and various other areas in banking. Currently, she is Head of Business Development for Trade Finance. She is a mother of one (me), is married to a Canadian (my dad) and enjoys reading thrillers and crime novels. Finally, she comes from Bavaria and has roots in Alsace.
Was there anything that led you to choose this career as a child?
No, I actually at first wanted to become a medical professional, but then I realized that I don’t really deal well with people’s pain. And then, wanting to become an architect, I realized I lacked the talent for that. And, knowing this, my parents said I should study business development, so I did that, and just sort of went with the flow of which opportunities came my way.
Could you tell me a bit about how being a woman has affected you and your career path, if it has?
I think, since I started, times have changed. I was very often the only woman in the room, when I first entered the business world. Working in risk, or now, business development, once you’re at my level, you're used to being the only one, but it is great to see that in recent years more and more of us are making our mark in the business world. I never really had a problem with this, and I’ve also never really experienced the so-called ‘glass ceiling’, many women complain about. But I’ve realized that in order to be a woman in business, you have to be very hard-working, very professional.
Have you ever faced prejudice or been targeted because you’re a woman?
I personally have not really faced prejudice, no. One reason might have been that I work in a very international environment. And even when I’ve faced minor prejudice, I’ve always taken it with a sense of humour, and I think that is actually also my advice for fellow professional women, that we - at times - have to realize that we’re dealing with human beings, and that none of us are perfect.
What is your opinion regarding the prejudice against women, and what can we do to change it?
I think that although the discussions are really helpful, there are certain things that are also limiting us. I also think that it is really important that we provide proper education for young women like you and I think we’ve made good progress in that. For example, nowadays, you’d have no problems studying at the ETH, science, mathematics, etc. but forty or so years ago that was probably quite different. But I also think that we need to continue to have the discussion about mothers and part time work, but should not limit the discussion to this. In addition, I think we ought to look at our European neighbours and take their example. In many other countries, paternity leave is also something entirely normal, and I agree with this, because if a man wants to stay at home for three years after his child is born, he should be able to jump back in his career just as well as his wife should be! For example, when I was working at a Swedish bank, when my boss had her third child, her husband stayed home and took care of it.
“I can’t say that I planned my career very thoroughly… I was driven by the
opportunities that opened up for me.”
-Amelie Laing
How important to you is being a woman?
Not so important, I think it’s more important to me what type of a person you or I are. It’s not super important if you’re a woman or man, so long as you work hard and are a good person.
How has being German changed you and your experience growing up?
I think you are always influenced by your country’s heritage and you should use this as an opportunity to learn from the past to make things better.
How important to you is being German in your identity markers?
Personally, I’d say not very important for me, because my family travelled a lot and had friends from all over the world So no, not really.
Do you believe you are privileged because of your nationality, socio-economic class, gender, or race?
Yes, I’m privileged. I grew up in a country which has a good and accessible education system in all places. Plus, I had parents who could pay for that education, which made me extremely glad. Another great thing was that in Germany there was no one saying: ‘girls can’t do this or that’.
How do you think being privileged has changed your experience regarding your career and life path?
I think my growing up and my ability to access education opened many doors for me. However, that’s, I would say, the only privilege that I ever really used in my career. I never just called someone up, or had my parents call someone up to give me a job, I made sure to work as hard as I had to to get a promotion.
Finally, what is your advice for your younger self or people in the same position as you?
Simple: work hard, be humble, and yet also be confident in your abilities. Don’t let anyone talk down to you, but also realize when you’re wrong.
“What’s really important is to be humble.”
