Already a subscriber?After more than 20 years working in communications for investment banks, Jill Valentine – now at New Zealand-based advisory house Jarden – knows that writing a novel set in the sector will leave a few people guessing.which goes on sale on Saturday, opens at a lavish London Christmas party with a Hollywood theme, bags of coke and at least one overbearing bully.
“There’s stuff generally that goes on in organisations that doesn’t see the light of day ... that’s the whole point around NDA . There’s this whole discussion now that they are overused and that it’s not right because it enforces this culture of silence.”Valentine says work environments are slowly changing. However, investment banks in Australia were shown to be amongfor paying women less than men, according to data released this week by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency.
The Scottish-born Valentine wrote the book in the 18 months after leaving Barrenjoey, where she ran communications for the Barclays-backed investment bank. “In my role as a communications professional you really do get a good look at leadership styles, sometimes you have a seat at the table, sometimes you don’t. People see you as the agony aunt, if you like, because you are a direct report of the CEO,” she says.