From childcare to banking: Eleanor Baker on the importance of career progression

Eleanor Baker has excelled her career from being in childcare to support Women-owned businesses for Lloyds Bank, focusing on their regional impact in sectors such as manufacturing.

She shares her career journey along with the power of an amazing internal and external support network

Tell us about yourself

My name is Eleanor Baker, and I’ve worked for Lloyds for over 12 years.

In my time with the business, I’ve gained experience operating across multiple roles, from personal, business, and commercial banking to merchant services and product management.

Throughout my career at Lloyds, I’ve supported numerous businesses across multiple sectors, at various stages of their development and progression.

I’ve worked closely with these organisations to help them achieve their strategic goals and growth ambitions.

I now lead Lloyds support for Women-owned businesses, focusing on their regional impact in sectors such as manufacturing.

My work with Women-led initiatives aligns with my commitment to fostering equitable opportunities for underserved businesses and communities, and I’m especially passionate about driving meaningful impact through empowerment and inclusion.

Alongside this, I am also studying Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability at Manchester Metropolitan University.

What inspired your career or business journey?

The source of inspiration for my career came from having an ally.

This was someone who saw my potential and championed me to kickstart my business journey in banking, after I had originally qualified in childcare.

Since then, I have progressed in my career by not only surrounding myself with an amazing internal and external support network, but by continuously educating and challenging myself.

What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced as a woman in business and how did you overcome it?

As women, we face many barriers—some conscious, others unconscious.

Whether it's feeling that we must work harder than others to be taken seriously, being overlooked for leadership opportunities, or having our ideas quickly dismissed, these experiences collectively form obstacles.

To challenge this, it’s key to form a strong network of allies, who can provide honest support and guidance throughout your career journey.

For me personally, career progression has been my biggest success and challenge.

I have been able to progress and develop but not necessarily the ‘straight forward’ route.

Guidance from my network, along with the effort I've invested in educating myself and challenging situations that may have held me back, I've been able to successfully continue my journey.

What’s one key piece of advice for women looking to succeed in your industry?

If I were to give one key piece of advice to women working in finance, it would be to seek out mentors and advocates who inspire and support you.

How has gender equality in business changed and what still needs to improve?

Whilst we’re seeing increased representation in leadership, and stronger enforcement of policies in areas like anti-harassment, we still have a long way to go in achieving gender equity.

It remains that opportunities for women are still affected by unconscious bias when it comes to hiring processes, or promotions in the workplace.

And still, women take on the majority of unpaid caring responsibilities. According to the Global Gender Report 2024, achieving gender equality could take approximately 134 years.

To accelerate progress, I believe we need strength through allyship and mutual support.

Our focus should remain on creating fairer opportunities and reversing biases—not by taking away from anyone, it’s more about creating fairer opportunities as the scales have been tipped for far too long.

How has being part of GBCC supported your business or career?

The Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce has allowed us to work together to provide support for businesses, which in turn accelerates growth.

Regional ecosystems are vital for not only supporting economic growth, but for providing a platform for collaboration and innovation.

This year’s IWD theme is Accelerate Action. Given that gender parity may take until 2158 what does IWD mean to you, and how can we drive faster change?

Once again, I believe allyship is the answer here.

Gender inequality isn’t just an issue for women – it's a challenge for everyone.

Women’s voices should be heard, even when we don’t have a seat at the table.

We can all drive change much faster by ensuring our voices are used to educate, to challenge, and to push forward together.