When it comes to women supporting other women to achieve their career goals, Bryhanna Campbell admits some amazing females in her network have given her immeasurable support since she started her career at EY. But there’s no need to rely on formal mentoring programmes to get the boost you need, she says.

From tax to forensics

As a Senior Consultant in EY’s forensic investigations and compliance team for the past year, Campbell’s day to day focuses on financial crime compliance and investigations. But it marks a big shift to the role she started eight years earlier.

Campbell started at Grant Thornton in the firm’s tax team after completing an accounting and finance degree but says she soon realised that staying in tax wasn’t a long-term career goal. “I had an inkling that I wanted to explore forensic accounting. I thought about studying law at university, and in the end decided on accountancy and forensic accounting seemed like a career that merged the two.”

After joining EY three years ago, Campbell had a chance to meet with someone at the firm who worked in the forensic accounting field. This allowed her to find out more and prompted her to enrol on a financial crime course to learn the foundations. When a secondment opportunity at the firm opened up, the course she’d done was a big tick in a box. The job became permanent in October 2025.

Networks offer confidence boost

The transition from tax to forensics has highlighted the value of support in all its guises – including networking and mentoring – to navigate the corporate world. “I had a formal mentor assigned to me a couple years ago. But outside of that, I do a lot of work for the EY Black Community as the Communication Lead for the 600-member network across the UK business,” she explains “The co-lead is my work sister and encourages me and pushes me out of my comfort zone without me even realising it.

“Having people who believe in me - especially women - makes me feel like I can do anything. When I joined my new team, I worked closely with a senior manager, and her personality is similar to mine. She's very calm, she's not the loudest in the room but carries herself with a level of assurance and confidence. Seeing people who look like me is also helpful.”

Campbell says that mentoring does not always have to be a formal arrangement. “It could be someone in your team who's got a bit more experience, or someone who demonstrates qualities you aspire to develop,” she says.

To achieve maximum benefit, however, Campbell believes it’s important to set a mentoring goal. “For example, I'm naturally really shy and find it uncomfortable being the centre of attention, so I wanted practical tips on how to overcome that,” she says.

Having benefitted first-hand from support, Campbell also volunteers with the EY Foundation, supporting employability workshops in schools, and mentoring young people as they transition into post-education options.

Inspired to find your own path

Campbell doesn’t believe that being a woman has been a career barrier per se, although she remembers noticing the lack of female leaders when she started work in 2018. But as the first generation in her family to enter the corporate world, she admits to facing her fair share of other challenges.

“If you come from a working-class family, it’s easy to suffer with imposter syndrome when you’re surrounded by people whose background differs to yours,” she says. “Sometimes it feels quite difficult to navigate that alone.”

Campbell’s advice to her younger self would be to have more confidence in her abilities. She admits she’s good at dishing out that advice to others but would do well to take her own. “If anyone else can do it, you can also do it. You just need to have confidence in that. I pour into other people and encourage them, but I struggle to do that for myself.”

Given her own career trajectory, Campbell also believes it’s important not to worry if your path isn't straight. “Some of the people that I started the accounting qualification with are already in leadership positions, and I'm not there yet, and that's partly because I've taken pivots. It’s important to focus on your own race,” she advises. “Some people take a slower pace, but regardless of the path you take, you're going to grow and get the skills you need to get where you want to be.”

Campbell believes it’s important to celebrate International Women's Day (IWD) but says it doesn't always have to be a focus on what women aren’t doing or where women need to be. “It’s about creating safe spaces for people to talk about their experiences, being inspired by other people's stories and recognising people for the good work that they've done,” she says. “As women, we don't often shout about our achievements as much as we should.”

Creating opportunities for all

This year's IWD theme ‘balancing the scales’ is about creating opportunities that are accessible to all and challenging systemic barriers. It’s certainly a focus that resonates with Campbell. Equity must not be overlooked, she says.

“In society everyone comes from diverse backgrounds, cultures, socio economic upbringings. Nobody’s path is the same. It's important to have conversations and be open and while some may not always feel comfortable, having those transparent conversations is really important. That’s what creates change.”

It’s also about finding inspiration in women in all walks of life, Campbell says: “I have a list of women that inspire me for loads of different reasons.” Whether it’s a senior businesswoman or a fashion social media influencer, the common thread of succeeding from humble beginnings is the one that truly strikes a chord. “Women who have managed to overcome different challenges are the ones I gravitate towards the most.”

Authenticity is key, Campbell believes. “There's space for women to put their own spin on what a true leader is and figure out what works for them and is authentic to themselves. Where your personality shows, that's where we make better leaders.”