Gender equality at Nationwide

Doing the right thing in the right way

Alison Robb

Alison Robb, Leader of People and Culture, Nationwide

“Having a more diverse workforce energises the business, positively influences decisions and ultimately benefits our members. We are committed to supporting women in the work place by creating both career opportunities and attracting the best talent to work at Nationwide. While we have made good progress in the last few years in our diversity ambitions, there is much more work to be done in order to create a truly diverse and inclusive workplace.”

Committed to driving wider change:

What does this look like in practice?

We asked some of our colleagues to share their stories.

Mentoring helped me secure a senior role

Aisha Lewis

“As well as other mentoring schemes, every year Nationwide nominates 10 women at different levels of the business to join the 30% Club mentoring scheme. In October 2017, I was put forward and paired with a mentor from another company.

“As the most junior person nominated, I was thrilled – if a little overwhelmed! Working with my mentor has been fantastic. It’s given me a safe, independent environment to bounce around ideas, develop business cases, and practice presentations. I’m so grateful for the time my mentor gives me, allowing me to ask questions and learn from her experiences.

“I’ve since secured a permanent Senior Manager role and become a mentor on the 30% Club mentoring scheme. I’m delighted – I love my job and I love working for Nationwide.”

Aisha Lewis, Senior Change Manager

I had help adjusting to life as a working parent

Anna Bentham

“As I began planning my return to work after maternity leave, I realised the practicalities of being a working parent would be challenging. I felt I needed support from others at Nationwide that faced the same worries.

“After sharing my idea, the Nationwide Working Families network was created. We now have nearly 600 members – parents, grandparents and parents-to-be, all supporting each other on a wide range of issues.

“In the end, my return to work was very positive, thanks to the relationship I’d built with my maternity cover and the support my colleagues gave me. Being a working parent has given me a new perspective, which has allowed me to build a stronger network of peers and a more empowered team.”

Anna Bentham, Director of Strategic Planning & Risk and Co-Chair of our Working Families network

I moved from teaching to technology

Anneke Sissons

“I took a leap from being a maths teacher to applying for Nationwide’s Technical Development Programme – and I haven’t looked back! It’s been an amazing opportunity to learn quickly and challenge myself in a safe and encouraging environment.

“I need to keep up to date with changes in IT, as well as wider issues like keeping our member data secure. And then there’s the extra, non-technical training around things like leadership skills, which has been really inspiring too.

“With teaching, I knew I made a difference on a personal level. Nationwide has such a strong perspective on why we do what we do, that I get similar satisfaction now. Our members are safer, and that’s a great feeling.”

Anneke Sissons, Security Lead

Actively promoting gender diversity

There’s still more we can do to recruit, retain and promote women in more senior roles. We’re making sure diversity and inclusion are central to our roadmap and People Strategy by putting the following initiatives into place:

  • Senior accountability: Our senior leaders have their own diversity targets to meet, supported with specific training and tracked through performance reviews.
  • Inclusive leadership: We look for inclusive behaviours as an attribute in everyone we hire and promote. Our senior leaders receive training to help them build diverse teams, lead in an inclusive way and promote inclusive ways of working such as Shared Parental Leave.
  • Inclusive processes: Every step of our recruitment, promotion and talent programmes are designed around the principles of inclusion – including shortlists, interview panels and talent forums.
  • Progression coaches: Employees receive coaching as part of our talent development programme, which makes sure they have access to the right opportunities and support to progress their careers.
  • Employee networks: Gender Equality Matters – one of our eight employee network groups – promotes gender equality for all. As well as supporting its members, the group works with the business to influence our policies and practices.

New jobs in technology

Our high retention rates mean our workforce tends to evolve slowly. However, in September 2018 we shared our plans to invest heavily in our technology. This will see us recruit up to 1,000 new roles over the next few years.

More information about technology at Nationwide

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