The financial services sector was urged to end the era of women
being underpaid, underrepresented and undervalued and sign up to
the Treasury’s Women in
Finance Charter by newly-appointed minister for
financial services, .
Speaking at the Women in Finance
Awards last night, the Minister laid out the
importance of the four industry actions in the Charter which aim
to build the pipeline of female talent for leadership positions.
Mr Barclay made clear that the Charter offers financial firms,
both large and small, the flexibility they need to make a real
difference:
“The Charter is simple. It doesn’t tell companies who
to hire, or how to run their businesses.
But it does ask them to make a real commitment to supporting
women and their progression to more senior roles.
It asks them to set their own targets for what that looks
like.
To measure their progress in achieving them – and make that
progress public.
I simply don’t buy the argument of those firms who say they
cannot do this.”
As well as celebrating the success of women in finance, the
Economic Secretary emphasised that firms should also think about
improving different types of diversity:
“The charter does not prevent firms focusing on other aspects
of diversity, and if we are to meet the economic and political
challenges ahead, we need a meritocracy which promotes diversity
across all areas, including LGBT, class, and geography.”
The Women in Finance Awards, held at the Grosvenor House Hotel,
identified and celebrated role models and advocates in financial
services.
The Awards are supported by HM Treasury, 30% club, London Stock
Exchange, Virgin Money, Bloomberg, Prudential and Rolls-Royce,
among others.
Winners were chosen by an independent panel of judges. Many of
the winners, including the top prizes of the night, went to those
from firms signed up to the Charter.
, Economic Secretary to the
Treasury, said:
“For too long many women have been underpaid,
underrepresented and undervalued compared to men and it is events
like the Women in Finance Awards which rightly shine the
spotlight on female excellence and achievement in financial
services.
I want to congratulate all of the winners and I wish them
luck for their future careers.”
Top winners include:
Woman of the Year - Emily Cox, Virgin
Money
For the flagship award of the night, given to an inspiring leader
who has challenged, influenced and revolutionised the culture of
the business, the judges chose Emily Cox. Emily stood out as a
game changer for all of her work on the Gadhia Report, and for
furthering the momentum of the Women in Finance Charter.
Banker of the Year- Maria Harris, Atom Bank
Maria stood out as one of the most influential and inspirational
women in banking thanks to her genuinely disruptive approach to
mortgage lending. Her work in mentoring team members and hiring
for diversity singled her for this award. This was also evidenced
by the scores of testimonials from clients and co-workers in
praise of her hard work.
Advocate of the Year- Andrew Bester, Lloyds Banking
Group
Andrew has gone out of his way to drive greater diversity and
inclusion at all levels of Lloyds bank. Under his leadership,
Lloyds Bank is now on track to reach its 2020 commitment of 40%
of women in senior roles.
Employer of the Year- Columbia Threadneedle
Columbia Threadneedle has a proven track record of proactively
cultivating a diverse workforce, introducing specific measures to
promote diversity and backing these up by measurable impact.
Insurance Leader of the Year- Debbie Cannon, LV=
Insurance
Debbie takes the title of Insurance Leader of the Year for her
truly inspiring journey, her compellingly honest story, and for
standing up as a role model to other women in the sector.
Legal Adviser of the Year- Leigh Kirkpatrick,
RBS
Leigh stood out as a lawyer who has broken barriers to
advancement, carved out a niche for herself in finance, while
simultaneously paving the way for greater diversity in her firm.
This was further bolstered by her mentoring and pro bono work
outside of office hours.
Over 120 firms that have signed up to the Treasury’s Women in
Finance Charter, covering over half a million members of staff –
more than half of the financial sector staff.
The Charter sits among a set of wider government reforms to
improve gender equality in the work place. These include the £5
million fund for ‘returnships’ announced at Budget 2017 and
making gender pay gap reporting mandatory from April this
year.
Full speech available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/women-in-finance-awards-city-ministers-speech
