Creating a truly diverse and inclusive culture
Heidi Toribio Regional Co-Head, Client Coverage, Asia, Corporate, Commercial and Institutional Banking
11 Oct 2019
Just as innovative technology has flooded our industry, creating opportunities for clients, so disruption is opening our minds to different ways of thinking and behaving. We are becoming more accepting of new ways of working, and the time is right to challenge old mindsets and create new cultures where diverse teams can flourish.
The habituated response – creating homogenous teams by hiring people who act and think in the same way we do – fails to capture the different perspectives and tools that diversity brings to problem-solving.
I remember sitting in on a promotion committee several years back, in a previous company, discussing a female candidate. She had all the skills, but she was different – very reserved – but when she needed to, she could be very forceful. The committee wasn’t used to that and decided this excellent candidate wasn’t ready. In fact, it was the committee that wasn’t ready to accept the disruptive value this candidate would have brought.
A 2018 study by McKinsey1 shows that companies ranking in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams are 27 percent more likely to create value, and 21 percent more likely to be profitable. New research by Zenger Folkman also shows that women make excellent leaders, outscoring men on capabilities such as taking initiative, resilience, practicing self-development and driving for results2.
Change is happening – women now hold 25 per cent of board positions in the 104 largest firms in the Fortune Global 5003. However, at the current rate of improvement, we won’t expect to see men and women equally represented at board level until 2036, even at these leading companies. More needs to be done to reap the benefits of gender diversity now.
At Standard Chartered, we’re committed to gender diversity at every level, and are challenging entrenched ways of thinking to create a culture that is truly diverse. Our leaders have restructured senior management meetings to be more inclusive of women. Through this, more women have had the opportunity to be part of commercial decision making and gain internal visibility.
We also participate in the Women’s World Banking leadership programme, in which we pair a senior executive sponsor with a high potential female colleague. They work together for 9 months on a Standard Chartered strategic business initiative that will improve our gender diversity or outreach to female clients.
It takes a long time to close the gender gap and tackle entrenched cultural issues. The first step is to recognise that there is a problem. The next is to identify the specific barriers to diversity in each organisation, and only then can firms deliver effective solutions. The commitment needed to bring about change is substantial, but once done, the benefits are profound and lasting.
Please read my article here.
3 European financial services leads charger on women directors Financial Times July 4, 2019