HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter
HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter
Progressive Building Society has signed the HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter which has a key priority of harnessing the talents of women in financial services.
It marks the sector’s collaborative efforts to drive meaningful and permanent changes in the representation of women in financial services, to ensure women everywhere are able to fulfil their potential. In signing the Charter, the Society has made the following pledges to improve gender diversity.
Pledges
The Society will set internal targets for gender diversity in senior management.
- Continue to facilitate, to the fullest possible extent, a range of flexible working initiatives that encourage women to stay and develop their careers within the Progressive Building Society and
- Maintain current female participation levels at management (74% female participation) and Senior Management Committee (38% female participation), improving these where possible, in line with recruitment practices to ensure continued strong female representation;
- Launch an in-house leadership development programme and support and encourage female participation with a target of at least 50% female participation, building on their skills sets for the future;
- Increase the number of women who have access to Society sponsored membership of the Women in Business NI forum from 8 to 20, providing access to training, networking and mentoring opportunities to support future career and personal growth.
Progress
When we signed the Charter we had 38% female representation in senior management. As of 27 September 2019, we have 67% female representation. We believe that we have met our Charter target by our deadline.
The Society’s leadership team is benefitting from the varied creative ideas and perspectives that female participation brings.
The appointment of females to high profile roles within the Society serves to illustrate the quality of leadership roles that are attainable for female staff. These women are strong role models for all of our female staff.
Over the past three years, a number of female staff have benefitted from participating in an ILM 3 Leadership & Management programme with female participation at 79%. Of these participants, already over 60% have enjoyed promotional and career benefits. The Society’s investment in leadership training has encouraged women to seek new roles through increased confidence and enhanced skills sets. The Society has greatly benefitted from this female talent pipeline.
The Society has invested in management training to ensure that managers are equipped to support women to work flexibly, thus encouraging women to continue developing their careers with the Society. 100% of women on maternity leave have returned to their jobs within the Society and currently circa a third of our female staff benefit from flexible working arrangements.
The Society remains committed to encouraging females to develop their careers and realise their potential.