Pearls of Wisdom Luncheon to Highlight Industry Challenges for Females

Working on board a superyacht offers career, financial and lifestyle opportunities like no other and, for these reasons, it is becoming an increasingly popular avenue for young people at the start of their working lives. For women, however, a career in yachting can have limitations – whether it be down to a desire to have children, or the entrenched age discrimination prevalent in the industry especially towards female crew, women typically leave yachting earlier than their male counterparts. As such, when the time comes for them to transition ashore, they are faced with a unique set of career and financial challenges.

To highlight the issues that disproportionately affect women in yachting, Tim and Cherise Reedman of Reedman Wealth Management, Partner Practice of St. James’s Place Wealth Management, are hosting a Ladies’ Luncheon in November at the prestigious Lime Wood Hotel in the New Forest, UK. In partnership with Döhle Yachts and Quay Crew, this intimate event will act as a platform for women with current or former careers in the superyacht industry to share real-life stories, reveal lessons learned and ignite a much-needed conversation about the importance of safeguarding financial wellbeing and career longevity.

Aptly titled Pearls of Wisdom, the event was originally inspired by Cherise Reedman’s own experience transitioning from her role as a chief stewardess on board a superyacht to a life ashore. “Working in yachting was fantastic and I loved every minute of it, but as a woman it only goes downhill once you are in your 30s and, if you want to start a family, you can only be in the industry for so long,” Cherise reflects. “In addition to this, job prospects for us on shore are limited, coupled with the fact that we might be taking a career break straight away to have children. I wasn’t adequately prepared and I found it very frustrating.”

As such, Cherise feels that there are important and frank conversations to be had and that, by drawing on the experiences of women who have already transitioned ashore, it could help those following in their footsteps. “Any career change is significant, but women leaving the superyacht industry will see drastic changes to their income and lifestyle as well – it can be a big shock, so having an exit strategy is really important,” she adds. “There are so many women out there who have had experiences that those in the industry now could learn from, but nobody is speaking about it because, once a woman leaves the industry, it’s like they’re no longer relevant.”

The individual stories shared by the women attending the event will be complemented by Tim Reedman’s expertise in financial planning for yacht crew, with the aim of providing tangible tips and advice that others can use and implement, no matter what stage they are at in their yachting journey. Having founded Reedman Wealth Management nearly ten years ago, Tim believes in taking the time to understand crews’ financial needs and putting those needs first, with the aim of providing the best quality financial advice. It is this ethos that has naturally led to Reedman Wealth Management’s fervent support of such an event.

“My goal is to always help my clients leave yachting as financially secure as possible, even if they have to leave suddenly due to unforeseen circumstances,” Tim explains. “The more women in yachting that I speak to and advise, the more it becomes apparent to me that there is an urgency for women to have robust financial and career plans, which doesn’t exist to the same extent for men. There is a time frame and expense associated with having children, as well as a significant pay gap between yacht and shore-based roles, and the impact of this is not being considered enough by women in the industry. Through this event, we want women to be able to learn from the experiences of others and hopefully start thinking about themselves more.”

In an inspiring display of women looking out for other women, the Pearls of Wisdom Ladies’ Luncheon promises to generate a wealth of valuable information and advice to help women in yachting going forward. It is a conversation that is long overdue in the industry and will hope to encourage female crew to start thinking about their long-term financial and career situation as early as possible.

Guidance from event guests will be shared for the benefit of all women in the industry.
Follow #RWMpearlsofwisdom on Instagram and Facebook.