The
WIBF Awards Alumni Network came together for an intimate dinner, sponsored by
Santander, on Wednesday 30th October at the AllBright Members Club in London. We were delighted to have
Ann Francke CCMI CMgr, Chief Executive of the Chartered Management Institute, lead an interactive discussion around the topic, ‘Create a Gender-Balanced Workplace’.
Ann is an expert on gender balance in the workplace and speaks frequently in the media and conferences on this and other management topics. Her book on gender balance was published on 26th September 2019. Ann also authored the ‘Financial Times Guide to Management’ and was named in the top 100 women to watch in the 2015 Female FTSE Cranfield report. She was awarded the MemCom award for ‘outstanding leadership of a UK professional body’ in 2016.
Ann started her career at Procter & Gamble and has held senior executive positions at Mars, Boots, Yell and BSI. She holds several Board positions and five Honorary Doctorates for her work in management and leadership.
This invite only occasion was a unique networking opportunity for the members of the WIBF Alumni Network, all who have contributed enormously to gender equality and championing women within the industry. The collective talent in the room came together to discuss and identify the opportunities to collaborate to push forward progress around the topic, ‘Create a Gender-Balanced Workplace’.
During the evening, Ann set four questions for guests to discuss in table groups and then share their thoughts and opinions digitally via Mentimeter on the night.
- Why do you think Financial Services is one of the top sectors with the largest pay gap?
- What can you do more proactively to ensure junior women are promoted as they rise through the ranks?
- What have you seen take place in your organisation which has helped to improve gender balance?
- What more can you do as individuals to improve this situation in your organisations?
The output from those discussions can be found in our subsequent white paper which can be downloaded below.
You can also view all the photos from the event on our Flickr account.