Diversifying The Path To Support D&I In Financial Services

Diversity and inclusion (D&I) continue to remain one of the key factors highlighted amongst the agendas of many financial services firms, alongside other environmental, social and governance commitments when it comes to the New Ways of Working.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) states that D&I is a “commercial imperative” for financial services firms, and over the past five years, banking, investment services, and insurance firms have taken positive steps towards diversity and inclusion (D&I).

With the current climate acting as a catalyst for change, firms are moving towards a more target-driven approach to increase their D&I representation as part of their growing commitment to address gaps in diversity at work.

Some examples include:

  • the representation of females in senior management gradually progressing within financial services firms,
  • the commitment from banks in their efforts to hire and promote people of colour following the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, and,
  • the increasing number of financial services firms such as Barclays, Citi Group, Bank of America, Macquarie, Aviva and KPMG, supporting and engaging with LGBT+ communities.

D&I comes in forms of background, experience, and thinking from different cultures, all of which enable an inclusive workforce to support customers’ complex and wide-ranging needs.

Diversity and inclusion collaboration

Throughout the pandemic, the introduction of an array of hires worldwide has given financial institutions a more diversified workforce in today’s globalised world proving that D&I, alongside financial resilience and workforce health, is critical for business growth and sustainability.

Whilst a more diversified workforce allows organisations to address their skills gaps and introduce different ideas and experiences, differences may be challenging and could potentially lead to workplace tensions and an unwelcoming environment when the focus on inclusion is neglected.

To endorse inclusion into this natural evolution of a growing and diversified workforce, businesses can adjust their talent assessment and onboarding processes alongside leadership and management training to ensure there is a strong and sustainable collaboration between diversity and inclusion.

Building a culture of continuous learning

A mindset-shift plays an integral role in embedding a culture of learning that supports an inclusive workforce.

Businesses can engage with employees through learning to create a culture of inclusion that supports their diverse team members, creates psychological safety at work, and builds an understanding of the differences that introduce greater insight towards driving success.

With clear targets and key performance indicators relating to D&I, culture training for employees, leaders, and management enables firms to understand how to apply lessons to their teams to develop a stronger workforce.

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