Gender

Across the business we want to see more women represented in senior roles. While we recognise this is a challenge faced by the financial sector as a whole, we’re determined to do all we can to support women in fulfilling their career potential at Barclays.

Following consultation with a number of internal and external stakeholders, we’ve improved our communications on diversity issues across our divisions and businesses, and have set clear diversity metrics.
 

Women’s Initiative Networks

Women’s Initiative Networks – known within Barclays as WiNs – have been established by colleagues all over the world, across Barclays and in our various divisions and businesses. The number of WiN members is increasing all the time, with more than 1,600 in our Wealth and Investment Management division alone.

Recruitment

We’re taking a proactive approach to promoting gender diversity in our recruitment campaigns. As well as creating a virtual ‘bench’ of potential successors for our most senior roles, we’ve also hosted women-only events at universities, highlighting how women can fulfil their potential in the financial sector. We’re working with our recruitment suppliers too, ensuring they’re aware of our commitment to attracting diverse candidates for positions across the business.

Women of the Year Awards

Barclays Women of the Year Awards recognise exceptional personal and professional achievements from women across the UK business. The event is run in conjunction with Barclays sponsorship of the international Women of the Year Award.

An intensive programme of interviews with internal and external stakeholders helped to shape the strategy, resulting in some clear actions for our divisional diversity teams. These included developing diversity metrics, enhancing HR processes, improving our communications on diversity issues and successes, and building on our external sponsorships to raise awareness.

We want to see more women represented in senior roles. We recognise that this challenge is one for the whole finance sector, not just Barclays, that it will take time to achieve and will require continued sponsorship from the very top of the organisation.

Independent recognition
 

In 2011, The Times newspaper listed Barclays as one of the top 50 places in the UK where women want to work, for the fifth year running.

We also won the 2011 Advancing Women in the Workplace Award from Opportunity Now, an accolade which recognises organisations that aid the recruitment, retention and development of women in the workplace. The honour celebrates the progress made by Women’s initiatives Networks across Barclays.