Fostering a more equitable and gender-balanced workforce is not only the right thing to do, but it also contributes to building more productive and successful companies.
2023 has marked a year of significant progress. As of June 2023, we surpassed our target of 30% female representation in senior management positions by achieving 39% representation for the first time. Our female representation on the Executive Committee now stands at 18%, while for our Board, 20% are female.
To advance towards our goals, we have implemented several initiatives this year:
- We established a new diversity and inclusion strategy and quarterly steering committee, spearheaded by a senior leader, to drive DEI initiatives across our organisation with a key focus on gender equity at all levels of the organisation.
- Recognising the importance of our Women's Network, we allocated a dedicated budget to enhance its activities, including talks led by inspiring female voices, support for International Women’s Day and sponsorship of the Women of the Year Awards.
- Additionally, we introduced a support network for families and carers, continued our work to highlight awareness of menopause and hormone-related health, developed a returners support guide for colleagues who have been on parental leave, and published our new fertility policy, offering 10 days of leave annually to colleagues undergoing fertility treatments.
Despite these accomplishments, we remain committed to continuous improvement and recognise the need to maintain our momentum in building a more gender-balanced workforce. Therefore, next year, our talent and succession planning with our Executive Committee will continue to prioritise gender balance and the development of high potential female talent through our flagship leadership programme. We will continue to drive high participation in our Moving Ahead 30% Club mentoring scheme, which provides coaching and guidance to women in our business who aspire to take the next step in their careers. Most importantly, we are targeting 40% female representation in senior management positions by the end of FY 2024. And by 2025, our goal is to achieve 50% representation.
To learn more about our efforts to make Aldermore a more diverse and inclusive business, please refer to our Report to Society here.