Celebrating women’s progress and pushing for more

International Women’s Day, the Spring Budget and the latest Women in Finance Charter report

March has been a groundbreaking month for gender equality. International Women’s Day saw incredible member events, including a surprise invitation to 10 Downing Street for me, where female leaders and entrepreneurs were celebrated.

This followed the previous day’s Spring Budget which included more support for childcare and children’s early years, thanks to persistent lobbying from groups like Pregnant Then Screwed. And while the changes mean progress is being made towards addressing the motherhood penalty, there’s still work to be done given the shortage of nursery and childcare places.

On 16 March, the latest HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter report was published and this also brought good news, given that almost three-quarters of its signatories have boosted their proportion of women in senior management. More details and a link to the full report are here.

WIBF’s achievements and financial success
Against this backdrop, we celebrated our own organisation’s achievements in fostering a more inclusive environment for women in finance at our Annual General Meeting. We thanked our members, partners, sponsors and volunteers for their unwavering dedication. And we were pleased to report a solid financial position, with WIBF’s core pillars – awards, events, mentoring, online presence, reach, job opportunities and networking communities – all experiencing significant growth throughout the year as you can see in our impact video below.

Expanding reach and promoting growth
As we look ahead, we are excited about our ambitious plans for WIBF, which include significant investments in various programmes, events and services to enhance our membership experience and value.

Key initiatives include:
•    Scaling our mentoring programme
•    Celebrating WIBF 25th awards anniversary
•    Enhancing our digital platform and jobs board
•    Strengthening our communities and promoting social mobility
•    Integrating ACT research insights (e.g. by launching the WIBF Leadership Academy, aligning event themes etc.)

These efforts aim to broaden our regional representation, celebrate achievements, improve member experience, provide increased personal and professional growth opportunities, and raise awareness of finance as a career for underrepresented socio-economic groups.

As we celebrate our accomplishments, let’s continue pushing for a more inclusive, diverse and successful future for all. Join WIBF in driving positive change – together, we can make a difference.

Anna Lane

WIBF President & CEO