WIBF prides itself on its forward-thinking and emphatic thought leadership. With contributions from members who lead the industry, we aim to provoke discussion, debate and new ideas, all with the goal of making the industry better and brighter. If you would like to write for Thoughts & Opinions please email digital@wibf.org.uk
COVID-19 Note on Gender: How do we prepare for a new normal which includes women equally?
It has now been just over two months since the UK went into lockdown. Across the globe, well over a hundred countries are in varied states of lockdown or social distancing and the pandemic has directly affected billions of people. As the UK’s restrictions are starting to lift, organisations are preparing for their workforce to gradually return to the office and for a new normal to start.
Diversity
Birmingham Growth Mindset Conference
Women in Banking and Finance held The Growth Mindset Conference on Saturday 8th February 2020 at the fantastic Aston Conference Centre. We were taken back by the amazing energy of attendees and speakers. From the get-go, everyone arrived with big smiles on their faces ready to learn and grow because they wanted to be there, they wanted to be part of something different and new which was in line with the underpinned theme of inclusion and diversity for the day.
Gender Balanced Business Diversity
Lisa Cowan
Learning To Celebrate Our Differences. Lisa Cowan, award-winning Director at EQGlobal, says it’s time to renew our focus on Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace; here’s why and how.
Alumni
Alumni Insights - Men As Allies
On January 16th 2020, the WIBF Alumni hosted a fireside chat with Shriti Vadera, Chairman of Santander UK and Michael Cole-Fontayn, Chairman of AFME and Chairman elect for The Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI) - both Patrons of WIBF - discussing the important topic of ‘Men As Allies’.
Alumni
Alumni Insights White Paper - Create A Gender-Balanced Workplace
In October 2019 WIBF held our annual Alumni Dinner at The Allbright Members Club, Mayfair and were delighted to welcome Ann Francke, CEO of the Chartered Management Institute and author of the insightful and inspiring “Create a Gender-balanced Workplace” as our guest speaker.
Personal Development
On Networks, Connections and Communities
Are networks and networking really worthwhile or are they in actual fact a poor return on investment in terms of our time and money?
Alumni
Alumni Insights - White Paper 2018
The WIBF Awards Alumni Network consists of women from all aspects of banking and financial services who have been bestowed awards by WIBF since 1998. The network encourages strong collaboration relationships between alumni in order to build and leverage best practice across the industry.
Women, Play the Long Game
In recent years, there has been much discussion about the outrageous cost of child care and the role it plays in mothers’ decisions to leave their full-time jobs. (Yes, we know it isn’t always mothers, but let's face it: In the vast majority of cases, fathers keep working while mothers take time off).
Q+A: WERKIN with Elizabeth Martine
Elizabeth Martine, now a Senior Operational Risk Manager at Barclays, has spent much of her career reflecting on what the stubbornly male-dominated finance industry can do to become more inclusive, particularly of women. In addition to her focus on operational risk, she also co-leads the Women on Boards, Boards Placement Programme within Win, the Barclays gender agenda initiative, and is a mentor at Women in Banking and Finance (WIBF), a UK-based professional organisation.
Glass ceilings were meant to be broken
In the mid-1970s a question on the entrance exam paper for a well-known investment firm’s trainee programme read: "When you meet a woman, what interests you most about her?” The correct answer was beauty. Those who answered intelligence, one of the other options available, were penalised .