When I entered the mortgage market in the late 1980s, the industry was a very different place to be a woman than it is today.

Even though we had a woman running the world’s fifth largest economy at the time, it wasn’t unusual for people to believe that a career in finance was solely for men. That’s not to say there weren’t women trailblazing their way through the industry, but perhaps there just weren’t as many back then and they weren’t so visible.

Once or twice early on in my career, I’d be mistaken for the person serving the tea or coffee or would find my voice didn’t carry as much weight compared to male colleagues. It was a different time, and that’s just the way things were.

Fast forward to today and the mortgage market is a very different place. In fact, I would go as far as to say that there has never been a better time to join our industry if you are a woman.

For a start, none of what I have outlined above would be deemed acceptable today. That speaks volumes about how far we’ve come as an industry.

But it’s more than that. These days the opportunities available to women are enormous. There is a greater sense of parity between men and women that perhaps wasn’t there in the past.

Back in the late 1980s, it was rare, if not almost impossible, for women to get a seat at the boardroom table.

That’s no longer the case. You only need to look at the number of women in senior positions across our industry to see how much progress has been made on that front.

Whether directors of clubs and networks, heads of lending at major banks or leading trade bodies, women are playing a major role driving this market forward. Today, the only thing holding you back, regardless of gender, is your ambition and willingness to work hard.

These changes have happened because our industry realised it had ignored a huge untapped pool of talent for too long and that it was important to level up the playing field.

This shift in mindset is also evident in industry awards and events. In the past, as a woman, you may have felt alienated, sidelined and underrepresented. However, today’s events have a much more inclusive atmosphere, with far greater female participation and recognition.

The mortgage and protection industry has taken great strides in fostering a culture of tolerance, inclusivity and respect. And these days there are far better support systems available for women operating in the mortgage market. Women are encouraged to achieve their full potential, and we have many strong, successful female role models to inspire the next generation of female leaders.

I personally mentor several young women looking to carve out successful careers in the mortgage market and the wider financial services sector. My first piece of advice to them is always the same: take responsibility for your own career and don’t rely on someone else to do it for you.

I ask them to come back to me with a list of their core values. Understanding yourself – what drives you, what motivates you and what you stand for – is the foundation of a successful career. If those things are aligned with the company you work for and the career path you choose, you’re on the right path to succeed.

That’s not to say there isn’t still work to do. But the momentum is in the right direction and if we continue to champion talent, ambition and hard work, the future for women in our industry looks incredibly bright.

If you had told that to my younger self that in the late 1980s, I would have scarcely believed it. And that is probably the single biggest sign of progress there is.

Toni Smith is distribution director at Sesame Network