By Oris Ikomi, early careers engagement manager at PIMFA
Diversity, equity and inclusion within financial services is both a regulatory imperative and an important issue for all companies. At PIMFA we have made the argument for developing diversity, equity and inclusion across the industry for some time and have been encouraged by the positive steps forward we’ve seen, but of course there is always more than can be done that brings manifold benefits to individuals and firms on social, ethical and business levels.
In November last year the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) set out proposals to improve diversity and inclusion in the financial services industry noting that “increased diversity and inclusion in regulated financial services firms can deliver better internal governance, decision making and risk management”.
According to a PwC Global survey, 85% of financial services chief executives polled said promoting inclusion and diversity helps enhance business performance. Other research also supports the business case for inclusive cultures that lead to increased profitability, creativity, and innovation. In fact, a 2019 McKinsey & Co. study showed the top 25% of companies that had a racially and ethnically diverse workforce outperformed those in the bottom 25% of companies for those factors by 36% in terms of profitability.
We have seen some excellent innovation and some firms already taking great strides in this space to encourage a younger more diverse cohort to join the industry, extending to socio and economic factors as well as neurodiversity – as recognised by PIMFA’s annual Diversity and Inclusion Awards which are now in their fourth year. But that’s not the only thing that PIMFA is doing to encourage progress in this area.
Over the past couple of years PIMFA has worked on a number of programmes designed to encourage greater diversity, equity and inclusion in our industry and the response from firms has been overwhelmingly positive. Among some of the most successful initiatives PIMFA has launched is our ‘make it.’ campaign, our Authentic Leadership Programme and hugely popular Women’s Symposium.
Next on our list is the ‘Inclusive Futures’ Insight programme. This is a pioneering programme dedicated to fostering diversity and inclusion among young talents within the wealth management and financial advice sector. Designed to open up and increase opportunities for under-served diverse talent, Inclusive Futures champions equity and empowerment.
As part of that programme PIMFA has already hosted ‘the Breaking Barriers Forum’, which focused on empowering young women by bringing them together with role models in wealth management to benefit from their insights and build their networks. Following the success of this we will be also running a Black Talents in Wealth Management Forum, which is an insight day created to share lived experiences, inspire and also attract existing and new generations of Black heritage talents.
Inclusive Futures is more than just embracing diversity; it is about shaping a future where everyone has equal opportunities to thrive and succeed in our industry whatever their background, and this is just one of several initiatives we are looking to launch over the next year or so.
We are also looking for Wavemaker Ambassadors to work with us and young professionals to inspire them to join our profession. This employee volunteering programme will offer industry professionals the opportunity to give back to the next generation by sharing their knowledge of the industry, demystifying the world of finance and equipping them with career advice and financial literacy.
Through engaging school and office visits, Wavemaker Ambassadors will have the opportunity to share their personal career journey along with their own personal insights and expertise to inspire and empower young individuals to enter and navigate the world of wealth management and financial advice with confidence. As we mentioned we also have further initiatives in the pipeline so watch this space!
We also know there are lots of firms already doing fantastic work to improve diversity, equity and inclusion within their own workplaces, and it is for this reason that we launched the Diversity and Inclusion Awards three years ago to highlight where firms are on their journey of embedding Diversity and Inclusion into their company culture.
There are also a couple of categories to celebrate the exceptional, diverse individuals coming up through the ranks in our industry that are changing businesses for the better or leading from the top. We launched the awards to showcase the amazing programmes that already exist and to help firms learn from one another. The deadline to submit entries to the awards is fast approaching but there is still time to enter. If your firm is doing great work on diversity and inclusion, we want to hear from you and celebrate your success.
