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

WIBF Thought Leadership Team
Hot Topics

WIBF Thought Leadership Team

AI is growing: how do we create fair technology we can trust in, and minimise the risks of gender bias?

This year marks 20 years since Spielberg’s sci-fi / drama movie came to our screens: A.I. Artificial Intelligence – and in 2021, AI is no longer the work of science fiction. In the last 20 years, AI uses have been explored for human benefits in numerous industries.
Sally McFall

Sally McFall

How mentoring can kick start your career growth

We investigate how being a mentor or mentee can really help you hone in on your key strengths and weaknesses, whilst pushing your career in the right direction.
Deborah Vickers

Deborah Vickers

Nurturing your Mental Health at Work

In the first of our series on educating yourself on important issues and driving your career, we delve into mental health and how important it can be for relationships, your career and networking.
Men As Allies Team
Men As Allies

Men As Allies Team

Gender Balance, Leadership and The Role of Male Allies

To achieve gender balance, individuals must all work together. So, what does it mean to be a ‘Male Ally’ - and what are the obstacles, and what can we, at WIBF, do to support? Our ‘Men As Allies’ team recently reached out to a number of senior leaders and undertook a series of 12 face to face interviews, focusing on the current gender landscape, the obstacles which remain and further explored the role of male allies. Here’s what we found.
Helena Thernstrom

Helena Thernstrom

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.
Birmingham Board Members
Diversity

Birmingham Board Members

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.
Lisa Cowan
Gender Balanced Business Diversity

Lisa Cowan

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 Team 2020
Alumni

Alumni Team 2020

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 Team 2019
Alumni

Alumni Team 2019

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.
Helena Thernstrom
Personal Development

Helena Thernstrom

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?