By Marie-Claire Dwek, Chief Executive Officer of Newmark Security plc,
I have spent more than three decades leading in commercial property, technology and security sectors, industries where women are still underrepresented at the top. I am not trying to solve every issue facing women in one article. My wish for International Women’s Day, however, is straightforward, I simply want to see more women in senior leadership roles.
Despite steady progress, the numbers show how far there is still to go. In the FTSE 350, women hold roughly 35 percent of leadership roles, yet the number of female CEOs remains low and shifts only marginally year to year. Globally, women occupy around 28 percent of senior management positions. These figures improve gradually, then plateau, then inch forward again. They do change, but not fast enough to reflect the talent available.
Over the years, I have learned that success is earned on merit. Admittedly, I’m far off from stereotypical feminist, but I believe strongly in meritocracy, having lived the journey. A level playing field matters where opportunity should be equal, and advancement should come from performance, capability and resilience.
The most satisfying moments in my career haven’t come from symbolic milestones, but from seeing capable women step into leadership roles because they were the right people for the job.
Believing in meritocracy also doesn’t mean I am dismissing tradition or courtesy, and it certainly does not mean I am giving up on chivalry, it’s something I still value. Respect, professionalism and good manners are not outdated concepts, they can exist comfortably alongside ambition and equality.
One of the things that has shaped my leadership philosophy is lived experience, well beyond boardroom strategy. Earlier in my career, through a combination of economic headwinds in the early 90s, business challenges and personal relationship struggles, I found myself financially on the fringe and effectively starting again from scratch.
Rebuilding required focus, discipline and a willingness to take measured risks at a time when stability felt far from guaranteed. That period sharpened my commercial instincts and reinforced something I still believe today: resilience is built quietly, through decisions made when the margin for error is small. It also reminded me that leadership is rarely a straight line.
My business journey then took me into a demanding and rewarding decade in commercial property, before I returned to the security technology company I had originally founded, where I was invited back by the board as CEO with a mandate to transform and grow the business.
So, for this International Women’s Day, my message is simple: I want to see more women leading businesses, shaping strategy and making decisions. Not because it looks good on a report, but because they have earned their place. That, to me, is real progress.
Marie-Claire Dwek is the Chief Executive Officer of Newmark Security plc, a UK and US-based provider of physical and data security technologies to major global organisations. With more than 25 years’ experience in property and technology, she has led Newmark’s transformation into a high-growth, service-driven business with a global client base.
