Financial services leaders and employees are coming together to celebrate the work the sector is doing to boost business by attracting and retaining talented employees from different socio-economic backgrounds.
The Progress Pioneers Summit marks the second anniversary of Progress Together – a not-for-profit organisation which has grown to represent 364,000 financial services employees since its inception.
Speakers at the event on 14th May, which aims to celebrate achievements in promoting socio-economic diversity in financial services, include:
- Debbie Crosbie, CEO of Nationwide
- Sheldon Mills, Executive Director at the Financial Conduct Authority
- Tulip Siddiq MP, Shadow City Minister
- Vincent Keaveny CBE, Chair of Progress Together and former Lord Mayor of the City of London
The Progress Pioneers Summit is powered by Progress Together, a membership body working with companies to improve socio-economic diversity at senior levels in financial services.
The event will see Progress Together launch its first ever impact report which shows that:
- Companies representing a third of the UK’s financial services workforce – 364,000 employees – are now collecting and analysing data on the socio-economic backgrounds of employees
- 77% of Progress Together member companies found that focussing on socio-economic background positively impacted their work on improving gender and ethnicity diversity and inclusion
- 82% of survey respondents said that awareness of socio-economic diversity had been boosted since joining Progress Together.
Research shows that people from working class backgrounds progress 25% slower than their more privileged colleagues, despite no link to job performance.
Men from higher socio-economic backgrounds were four times more likely to be in senior roles than women from a lower socio-economic background. 75% of senior roles in financial services are filled by people applying from outside the organisation, yet only 25% of these individuals are from working class backgrounds.
Building a corporate culture where everyone – including people from all socio-economic backgrounds are welcomed and can thrive – is associated with a wide range of business benefits. These include:
- Better decision making and a better focus on the consumer through reducing group think and better understanding of a diverse customer base
- Being better placed to serve the needs of customers from all backgrounds
- Improving employee satisfaction and retention leading greater productivity and business success while reducing recruitment costs
- The ability to attract top talent from the widest possible pool of candidates; enhancing creativity and innovation because ALL employees feel valued and respected.
At the event, Progress Together will be recognising all its members for their efforts to improve socio-economic diversity through storytelling, advocacy, collaboration, setting socio-economic diversity targets and collecting employee background data.
Progress Together members include Natwest, St James’s Place, HSBC, Aon, Artemis Fund Managers, Barclays, Nationwide, Paragon Bank, Santander, Man Group, Standard Chartered, TSB, Zurich, Skipton Building Society, Santander, Ardonagh, Coventry Building Society, Just Group, Mizuho, Sesame Bankhall Group, and Phoenix Group.
Sophie Hulm, CEO of Progress Together, said: “Businesses are starting to see that talent is hiding in plain sight.
“The Financial Services sector has a significant skills gap, yet firms have been losing people from working class families because of systemic barriers and unwritten codes.
“Since Progress Together’s launch, companies have come together to make a change and level the playing field for people from all socio-economic backgrounds. There’s still a long way to go but the Progress Pioneers Summit recognises the strides being taken by the companies leading the way.”
Vincent Keaveny CBE, Chair of Progress Together, said: “The failure to recognise the achievements of those from different socio-economic backgrounds is a failure to benefit from high-performing talent. If we want to remain globally competitive, we must be led by performance, not by notions of perceived confidence, gravitas or ‘fit’.”
The Progress Pioneers Summit is sponsored by Linklaters, Rostrum, The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, City AM and Corp Wellbeing Events.
