Women in Banking champs announced – call for more firms to join HMT women in Finance Charter

• Four award winners announced from inspiring shortlist of nominees
• BBA chair Noreen Doyle issues a call for action for individuals to improve standards and restore the sector’s image, in her keynote address
• Economic Secretary to the Treasury (City Minister) Harriet Baldwin highlights the sector’s gender pay gap in her speech

“Download Press release as PDF

London – 10 June 2016 The co-founder of a network that empowers women across the UK working in corporate data privacy to realise their potential and break the glass ceiling has been named Champion for Women, in the 19th Women in Banking and Finance Awards for Achievement held today.

Vivienne Artz, a Managing Director and Head of International for Intellectual Property Law at Citi, is co-founder of Women Leading Privacy (since absorbed into the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP)) – a network relevant to the growing demand for chief data privacy officers. Two additional individual awards and the team diversity award were also announced at the lunchtime ceremony at The Hilton Park Lane. The WIBF Awards for Achievement 2016 winners are:

• Champion for Women: Vivienne Artz, Citi
• Award for Achievement: Leigh Smyth, Lloyds Banking Group
• Team Diversity: Women’s Networks, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
• Young Professional of the Year: Sophie Baldry, Lloyds Banking Group

Economic Secretary to the Treasury (City Minister) Harriet Baldwin called on more firms to join HMT Women in Finance Charter, launched in March.

“It is a real privilege to speak at today`s event and to see so many women being celebrated for the excellent work they are undertaking in Finance and Banking. Financial services are our biggest export sector and employ a million people. It`s also our highest paid sector but the one with the highest pay gap, which is why HMTreasury has developed its Women in Finance Charter,” said Baldwin.

“Lots of leading financial services firms have already signed the Charter, but I hope I can persuade a few more to sign today.””

In her keynote address to the luncheon, WIBF patron Noreen Doyle, who is BBA chair, highlighted the importance of bolstering culture at financial firms, which the recently launched Senior Managers’ Regime has made even more relevant. She called on the audience to consider how they can improve standards and compliance on a daily basis to restore the sector’s image.

Proudly supported by Macquarie Group as the 2016 headline sponsor, WIBF’s annual awards have been celebrating top talent in the banking and finance industry and shining the spotlight on influential leaders for almost two decades.

WIBF Vice President Melanie Seymour paid tribute to the inspiring finalists and the role they are playing to create change.

“I read again and again in the nominations that these people are ‘bringing other women along with them’ ensuring that their success was not at the cost of other women’s progress. It was not a path for one but a road for others to follow and to improve on.”

CHAMPION FOR WOMEN AWARD 2016

Vivienne Artz, Citi, Managing Director and Head of International, Intellectual Property, Technology and Privacy Legal

Vivienne is an accomplished, principled and enthusiastic champion of women not only through thought and voice, but also through action and active sponsorship of a number of significant initiatives. Vivienne has a number of “firsts”, including setting up and chairing the Legal & Compliance Women’s Group at Citi, co-founding Women Leading Privacy in the UK (an external and cross-sectoral network), and initiating and chairing the first EMEA Legal Diversity Committee, with a specific focus on gender. As co-chair of the Citi Women Diversity Network for two years (now on the Steering Committee), Vivienne oversaw the transformation of the network in several ways, with membership increasing by 50%. She is Chair of the Data Protection Working Group for the Association of Financial Markets in Europe and Chair of the Data Working Group for the International Regulatory Strategy Group.

In collaboration with Citi Research, Vivienne organised a launch event for the Citi Global Report on “Women in the Economy: Global Growth Generators” in 2014 with Citi’s clients and in conjunction with Pembroke College, Oxford University alumnae. The report demonstrates that women are essential to generating growth in the global economy. Vivienne generously shares her time and experience as a mentor within and outside of Citi with a large number of women (Woman in Finance, Coaching for Success). Being seen as a successful role model for women in banking and finance enables Vivienne to demonstrate the qualities that the younger generations can aspire to. For example, one of her mentees writes: “As a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusiveness, she creates a working environment in which difference is celebrated and people from all backgrounds can succeed and flourish.”

AWARD FOR ACHIEVEMENT 2016

Leigh Smyth, Lloyds Banking Group Head of Digital Inclusion

Leigh Smyth is responsible for driving the digital inclusion agenda for Lloyds Banking Group, supporting its Helping Britain Prosper Plan and empowering more than 80,000 colleagues to play a role in delivery by becoming Digital Champions. Leigh is a dynamic leaders who inspires her team to achieve impactful results. She is forward thinking and is testing innovative prototypes looking to solved the digital skills gap in the UK. A recent example included looking to create employment for young people by matching them to small business customers in need of digital support (Digital Connect Pilot). Leigh is an advocate of the partnership approach and works tirelessly to build and maintain relationships for the Group with partners across the UK, which has resulted in the creation of tools and insight with key practitioners including Go ON UK and the Tinder Foundation. Leigh delivered the Lloyds Bank Business Digital Index in 2015 and the first ever Consumer Digital Index in early 2016, the largest longitudinal study of financial and digital capability ever conducted in the UK, in partnership with Accenture, Toynbee Hall and Go ON UK. The Consumer Index has raised more than £300,000 in PR value and more than 8 million Twitter impressions for the Group.

TEAM DIVERSITY AWARD 2016

Bank of America Merrill Lynch Women’s Networks

LEAD is the umbrella women’s network in the EMEA region. In addition, Bank of America Merrill Lynch supports two department-specific networks for women: Global Banking and Markets Women’s Leadership Council (GBAM WLC) and Women in Technology and Operations (WiT&O). The combined entry of the women’s networks is the winner of the WIBF Team Diversity Award for 2016.

Together, the LEAD, WiT&O and GBAM WLC networks for women play an essential role in building the culture of our company, and in placing diversity and inclusion at its heart. Internally, they help develop role models and create mentors; they ensure that Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s recruitment policy encourages candidate diversity; and they establish support for our female staff which is helping to boost retention rates. With 22,000 members throughout the world, these networks are central to the day-to-day functioning of the bank and help to develop a diverse and inclusive team culture.

Externally, they play an active role in inspiring future generations, and ensuring that banking is seen as an inclusive industry open to everyone – regardless of gender. Through partnerships with charities like Teach First, Stemettes and Code First for Girls, our networks are helping to break the barriers to pursuing a career in financial services. Similarly, our members’ volunteer efforts with Inspiring the Future and Inspiring Women are helping to pave the way for the next generation of female leaders.

Over the past year, our networks have aligned to form one team that develops, inspires, nurtures and supports its members. Their work will continue to ensure diversity and inclusion remain central to the bank’s sustainable growth.

LEAD is led by Chantel Dyason, Katharine Hayward and Charlotte Norman, WLC by Anita Panchmatia and Brooke Wachtel and WIT&O by Amanda Clarke and Jane Phillips.

YOUNG PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR 2016

Sophie Baldry, Lloyds Banking Group Digital Inclusion Project Manager

As Digital Inclusion Project Manager at Lloyds Banking Group, Sophie, 25, is responsible for building and maintaining key partnerships for Lloyds Banking Group across the UK to enable digital inclusion. She works tirelessly to share the tools and resources created by the Digital Inclusion team and partners across the UK and played an integral part in the launch of Go ON UK’s Go ON London Boroughs initiatives. She has built a number of strategic partnerships to deliver digital skills training to the Groups charity and business customers. In 2015, Sophie completed a Professional Diploma in Banking Practice and Management with the Institute of Financial Services and obtained the APMP Advanced Project Management qualification. She was recognized in the 2015 Guardian 300’s publication as a Rising Star alongside just nine others across the UK. Sophie has been heavily engaged in the Group’s responsible business agenda, leading a team in the Graduate Charity to Challenge to raise more than £27,000. In 2014, she was the Deputy Event Director at Sport Inspired Games in Cardiff, coordinating more than 50 volunteers to deliver sporting activities to more than 500 primary school children.”