Quotes from Marianne Lake

When push comes to shove, my children always come first, and I am lucky that I work in an environment that respects that.

I don't consider myself a massive self-promoter, and I don't feel I've ever had to behave in a way that didn't come natural to me in order to progress.

I think there are always phases in life when things get intense or difficult, whether it's the sheer volume of work or personal circumstances. And I've definitely had tough moments. The way I approach them is just to tell myself that this, too, will pass, and take it one day at a time.

I've never felt that being a woman was a competitive advantage or disadvantage.

Without a doubt, we do support a robust framework for aggregate capital and liquidity and stress-testing.

It isn't so much that there are so few women in finance in total but, rather, few women in senior leadership roles. It is a real problem that we all need to focus on every day, but it is not a burden. It is an opportunity.

I will always need to compromise and make choices - you just have to work hard at making the right choice day by day.

I never worried about raising a kid on my own.

A lot has been done to improve safety and soundness and confidence in financial markets and financial institutions, a lot of which was necessary.

It's impossible to have zero defects.

In the mornings, I try to spend anywhere from 15 to 60 minutes with my son. Failing that, I try for 30 to 60 minutes together at the end of the day. I try to make that work, but if I can't, I just move on. You can't beat yourself up about it.

Obviously it's true that as you go up the ranks, the number of women starts to decline. Whether that's because of 'self-deselection' or other barriers, I think that depends on the firm, the industry, and the person.

I am better at my job for being a mother and vice versa.