Aldermore leads way with gender diversity programme

The Women in Finance Charter requires companies to agree to support the progression of women into senior roles in the financial services sector by introducing a range of initiatives.

At Aldermore, this has included the appointment of Christine Palmer, chief risk officer, as the bank’s executive team member accountable for gender diversity.

It also established targets for gender diversity in senior management roles.

Currently 26.5% of senior managers are female, compared to 21% in 2016, with a target of 30% by 2020.

To build the proportion of women in senior roles, Aldermore has adopted new training, recruitment and mentoring processes, including unconscious bias training for business leaders.

All senior role recruitment now requires a diversified shortlist, resulting in a 50/50 split of male and female candidates being put forward.

The company also revealed the average gender pay gap is 29.9%, which is mainly driven by the lower representation of women in senior leadership roles within the business. An equal proportion of males and females receive a bonus.

Palmer said: “We’ve definitely come a long way over the past year, but we know there’s still a considerable journey ahead of us.

“We’ve seen real commitment within the bank to reach and potentially exceed the targets we have set by 2020, and we have taken significant steps to increase female representation within our senior leadership population and beyond.”

Phillip Monks, chief executive officer of Aldermore, said the programme was part of a wider focus on building an inclusive and diverse business.

He said: “We are committed to reaching our ambitious targets and will continue to implement policies and processes in order to deliver against them.”

In addition to the Women in in Finance Charter, Aldermore is also a member of Stonewall and The Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion.