A Finextra member 29 April, 2019, 11:03 0 likes

I'm a very keen follower of Finextra and in particular the Finextra TV interviews which are truly of outstanding quality. However, I must say that I was surprised to hear a question about how Mrs. King's leadership skills were obtained. This is not a question I've ever heard in any of the other interviews, which are mostly with men (due to the gender distribution in the industry). Now, I'm not a staunch feminist by any means, but I could understand how some might see this as a sexist question. 

A Finextra member 29 April, 2019, 12:20 0 likes

I think the leadership question is an excellent one if commonly used, and resulted in a fascinating response.  I would love to see this being asked of all interviewees, though I doubt it will adequately address the perception that privilege provides disproportionate opportunities for white upper-class males

A Finextra member 29 April, 2019, 12:30 0 likes

In my opinion it's just an awkwardly framed question. I agree that it's highly interesting and perfectly legitimate to ask about a interviewee's background and prior experience, and how it lead them to their current role.

Asking how a specific set of skills were obtained - a question which in my experience is never asked of other interviewees by Finextra TV - suggests that this is a particularly extraordinary skillset which one might not reasonably expect the interviewee to have. It's in that sense that the question could be perceived to have sexist undertones, although I'm sure this wasn't intentional.

In fact, given that this interview seems to have been sponsored by NatWest (presumably), they probably provided the questions and wanted to cast a most positive light on their senior executive.

A Finextra member 29 April, 2019, 17:51 0 likes

What a great question and Marion's response was superb. Gave the interview great gavitas. Well done both