Employer strives for gender equality

bt financial group BT westpac financial planning

21 November 2013
| By Staff |
image
image
expand image

BT Financial Group (BTFG) has won Employer of the Year in Money Management/Super Review’s inaugural Women in Financial Services Awards 2013. 

The group, part of the Westpac Banking Corporation, set up a dedicated program in 2010 to improve the representation of women in leadership roles.  

“We fully believe that having gender balance will bring diversity of thought, diversity of experience and diversity in approach and that will drive greater commercial outcomes,” the nomination letter said. 

The strategy is long-term and broad, and goes beyond the setting of formal targets. 

The initiative has resulted in Westpac achieving its initial target of 40 per cent of women in leadership roles two years early. It is now aspiring to reach 50 per cent by 2017. 

BTFG wants to double the number of female financial planners by 2017. 

“It was important to take more action to raise the bar in terms of progress of women in the workforce and to remove the barriers preventing women achieving their full potential,” Westpac Group CEO Gail Kelly said. 

In October BTFG launched the Stella Network, which aims to change the face of financial planning by providing a platform for women to connect and network. Over 200 leaders and participants from across the industry attended the formal event, with the launch receiving positive feedback from media and online. 

The network has 580 members since starting in September, illustrating the appetite for change and connection within the industry.  

“The initiative goes beyond addressing the gender balance within BTFG; by acting as the catalyst for change in the industry we will reap the benefits in our organisation,” the nomination letter said. 

BTFG launched many internal initiatives to focus on increasing the number of women in financial planning, including an internal six-month development program for female employees to become financial planners.  

Sixty-nine per cent of BTFG employees participate in at least one type of flexible working arrangements – up from 43 per cent in 2010. 

There is a focus on increasing the number of women in the company’s recruitment process through targets in their recruiter’s scorecards, and in service level agreements with recruitment providers. 

It has launched additional group tools such as a carers’ concierge, and a job-share database.

Click here to find out more about the winners in the Women in Financial Services Awards.

Read more about:

AUTHOR

Recommended for you

sub-bgsidebar subscription

Never miss the latest news and developments in wealth management industry

MARKET INSIGHTS

Completely agree Peter. The definition of 'significant change is circumstances relevant to the scope of the advice' is s...

4 weeks ago

This verdict highlights something deeply wrong and rotten at the heart of the FSCP. We are witnessing a heavy-handed, op...

1 month ago

Interesting. Would be good to know the details of the StrategyOne deal....

1 month 1 week ago

Insignia Financial has confirmed it is considering a preliminary non-binding proposal received from a US private equity giant to acquire the firm. ...

1 week 5 days ago

Six of the seven listed financial advice licensees have reported positive share price growth in 2024, with AMP and Insignia successfully reversing earlier losses. ...

1 week 1 day ago

Specialist wealth platform provider Mason Stevens has become the latest target of an acquisition as it enters a binding agreement with a leading Sydney-based private equi...

1 week ago