Ann Francke, Chief Executive Officer of the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) delivered a powerful call to action to leading women in the financial services sector to be bolder and more impatient in pursuit of gender balance.
Speaking at the Women in Banking and Finance (WIBF) dinner for their prestigious Awards Alumni network, Francke said, “We need braver and bolder action if we’re going to have a balanced future.”
“A lot of companies are doing bits to fix this issue, but nobody is doing whatever it takes.”
Drawing from her personal experience and her seminal book ‘Create a Gender-balanced Workplace’, Francke underlined that gender balance is a business issue, and introduced her solutions to combating the problems at the heart of imbalance in the workplace, offering clear, actionable strategies for making a positive change in organisations.
Francke said, “Gender balance is perhaps the best lever we can pull to develop better leaders and managers at every level, but in every sector there’s a familiar picture of the ‘glass pyramid’ – too many women at the bottom of organisations and too few at the top.”
“One way aspiring women leaders can address this gender imbalance is through support networks like Women in Banking and Finance, and their Awards Alumni are a superb example of why showcasing achievement is so vital.”
“Good role models inspire us all.”
Sponsored by Santander, the event was organised by industry networking group Women in Banking and Finance (WIBF) and gathered together previous award winners of the prestigious WIBF Annual Awards for Achievement from the past 22 years.
The dinner was held at the women’s only members club AllBright, the name of which is a nod to Madeleine Albright, the first female US Secretary of State, whose maxim “there’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women” was aptly quoted by WIBF Award Alumni Noreen Doyle in her acceptance speech for the Lifetime Achievement Award at this years ceremony.
