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  • Diversity and inclusion

    Data and reports

    Data powers everything we do. This is how we’re using it to assess diversity and inclusion across the company.

How we use data

Our reporting doesn’t just help us see what we’ve achieved – and where there’s more to do. It allows us to make data-led decisions to create a workplace where everyone can thrive.

A group of colleagues chat in the office of Standard Chartered Dubai.

An expanded remit for our pay gap reporting

Our reporting helps us ensure we are making fair decisions on compensation so we can better realise the potential of a truly diverse workforce.

Since 2017, we have reported on pay gaps by gender in the UK and our hub locations: Hong Kong, the US, UAE and Singapore.

For the 2023 performance year we have also calculated pay gaps by ethnicity in the UK and US, expanding upon the pay quartile disclosures made last year.

Leadership representation

We’re committed to increasing the proportion of women and talent from underrepresented communities across all levels of seniority. To get there, we set targets for representation on our Board and in senior management.

Women in leadership

Since signing the UK HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter in 2016, we’ve seen a positive trend of women taking up senior leadership roles, increasing from 25% to 32.5% at the end of December 2023. We are now aiming to have women make up at least 40 per cent of our Board.

View our Board Diversity Policy and find out more about our approach to Gender Equality.

Ethnicity representation

We have set senior leadership targets to further improve representation, including committing to a minimum of 30 per cent of our leadership being from a minority ethnic background.

31% of our Board identify as being from an ethnic minority background. 26.3% of our Global Management Team and direct reports identify as Black, Asian or minority ethnic.

Senior leadership targets for the UK and US
MarketEthnic groupCurrent Senior Leadership as of end of 2023Ethnic representation targets by end of 2025
UKBlack2.5%5%
Black, Asian and minority ethnic27.8%20%
USBlack/African Americans4.0%8%
Latino/Hispanic10.1%14%
Download our most recent report.
Colleagues outside an office with a bilingual sign.

Representing our world

We aim to create a workforce that is representative of the nationalities and ethnicities we see in our markets and client base.

Our colleagues represent over 120 nationalities and 100 ethnicities, and there are more than 170 languages and dialects spoken across the bank.

Inclusion Index

Our annual employee listening survey helps us quantify our progress towards creating an inclusive environment. We ask colleagues questions about different aspects of inclusion to generate a score.

What we ask colleagues

The questions in the index provide a rounded response to different concepts of inclusion and takes into consideration concepts of being respected and valued for contributions, being heard and involved in decisions, career development and opportunities and work-life balance.

Culture change takes time. We’ve been measuring inclusion since 2018 and are delighted to see an increase in our rating from 77% to 83% this year, as measured through our annual employee listening survey.

Melissa Soh, Regional Head, Diversity and Inclusion