Our Gender Balance Affinity Group works to make sure we have gender balance in everything we do that impacts our workforce. Their work is in line with our overall vision for gender equality, and is at the heart of how we make sure that everyone feels able to thrive at work, whatever their background, identity or circumstance.
The Gender Balance Affinity Group helps us to do this by providing:
- A guiding light for the business as we commit to having a culture of support, safety and acceptance regardless of gender identity.
- Help with identifying where we need to improve, when structural and cultural changes are impacting on that commitment.
- Support for our business as we develop and implement a gender balance framework. Through mentoring and career development, data analysis and support groups, this framework ensures that everyone is treated according to their needs.
- Support and collaboration with our other affinity groups so that we make sure we always consider any other individual characteristics that overlap with gender.
The Affinity Group’s priorities
To achieve their purpose, the Affinity Group focus on four key objectives. These are:
- Gender data: Understanding what gender data we currently have, looking trends and gaps across areas such as leadership, specialism or pay, and suggesting targeted actions.
- Equal opportunity: Creating a workplace where everyone has an equal opportunity, regardless of gender. Looking at everything from HR policies to our recruitment process.
- Culture and awareness: Creating a community here that has a culture of support, safety and acceptance, regardless of gender. Providing training and awareness, Vanquis Banking Group Peer Circles for support and discussion, and supporting our broader Inclusion and Diversity agenda. A culture where there is no place for misogynistic and misandrist behaviours.
- Communication: Making sure we have clear, consistent and timely communications around gender balance, by creating comms plans and sharing the latest news and content in this area. This might be celebrating national gender-based holidays, or simply supporting other inclusion groups at key points through the year.
Gender Balance Affinity Group Sponsors/Leads
- Carly Eaton
- Jayne Pearce
- Emma Ackroyd
Carly Eaton, Chief Internal Auditor
Ensuring that there is gender balance across Vanquis Banking Group is an important part of our inclusion and diversity agenda, which supports the Group’s People and Culture strategic priority. In working towards this, our goals are to create and sustain a diverse and inclusive workplace culture where everyone can thrive, ensure we are representative of our customer base and achieve better commercial outcomes.
Affinity Group Peer Circles
The Affinity Groups have successfully launched Peer Circles. The aim of these groups is to contribute to creating a culture of open discussion and support within our business.
Mandatory training
Our Affinity Group members within Vanquis now have an online training module on Equality, Diversity & Inclusion. Training for our people managers on creating an inclusive team environment is also being considered.
Awareness campaigns
Each year, the Gender Balance Affinity Group celebrates International Men’s Day and Movember in November as well as International Women’s Day in March, among other key days. The Group is also planning awareness campaigns around menopause, parental leave and maternity returners.
Improving Gender Balance Across the Group
The Gender Balance Affinity Group’s efforts are also part of a broader programme of work that focuses on improving gender diversity across the Banking Group. In 2019 we signed up to HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter, and challenged ourselves to have 40% female representation in the Group’s senior management population by December 2024. Read more here
Gender pay gap reporting update
We regularly use our Corporate Responsibility reports to disclose our gender pay gap reporting figures, covering all colleagues that are employed across the Banking Group.