City firms join forces for Women in Finance event
SENIOR figures from across the financial services sector are taking part in a “speed mentoring” event at the London Stock Exchange to promote the Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter.
The event, which takes place on Monday, will see over 40 senior leaders in financial services share their experience with 40 young women at the beginning of their careers in finance. It will comprise a speed dating format, with each mentee having a series of short conversations with mentors.
All the mentors come from the 93 financial services firms that have signed the Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter which commits firms to increasing gender diversity at senior levels.
Landbay is currently the only peer-to-peer lender to have signed up to the charter and will be participating in the event, with COO Julian Cork and communications manager Clare Joy taking the roles of mentor and mentee respectively.
“While the Charter has predominantly reached larger firms with thousands of employees, at Landbay we felt it was important to commit to gender equality within our business at this relatively early stage of growth,” the buy-to-let lender has previously said.
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Other firms attending include MasterCard, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, HSBC UK, BP Energy Supply and Trading and Jupiter Asset Management.
Xavier Rolet, chief executive of London Stock Exchange Group will open the event, followed by keynote speeches from City minister Simon Kirby and Jayne-Anne Gadhia (pictured), the government’s new Women in Finance Champion.
“It is important that the next generation of women working in finance have the opportunity to break the glass ceiling and get to the top,” said Gadhia.
“Achieving a balanced workforce at all levels in financial services will undoubtedly improve culture, profitability and productivity and I am delighted to see so many positive role models here today to mentor and encourage women just starting out with their careers.”
“Today proves these firms are not just paying lip service to the Women in Finance Charter but are living its values and actively working to help the next generation to climb the ranks,” said Simon Kirby, economic secretary to the Treasury.
“It is really important to keep the momentum going on this agenda and recognise the strong link between greater gender diversity and improved productivity and performance in our financial services sector.”