Veritas reports from the Women in Finance Charter event at the Guildhall

Veritas was delighted to take part in the Women in Finance Charter event at the Guildhall in the City of London on 14th March. It was great to see the results of the second annual review, which show that the number of women in senior management roles at firms who have signed the Charter is rising.

Excitingly, the Charter has now extended its reach to cover a staggering 800,000 financial services personnel. 86% of firms signed up have also increased or have at the very least maintained the number of women at the top of their companies.

The event, which was hosted by the City of London Corporation, was an excellent opportunity to learn more about the progress that Charter signatories have made since the last review, as well as to celebrate their successes, discuss best practice around the principles of the Charter, and network with people from other signatory firms.

It was really inspiring to hear from a number of the speakers, from City Minister John Glen MP, who said it was important that people could progress in Financial Services “irrespective of who they are and where they came from”, to the Women in Finance Champion, Jayne-Anne Gadhia’s encouragement for us all to support the women of tomorrow.

It is @HMTreasury’s ambition to see gender balance at all levels, across the breadth and depth of firms up and down the country and we fully support the aims of the #WomeninFinance Charter.

Jenny Oldfield, CEO of Veritas Commercial Services, commented: “It has been fantastic to see the very encouraging progress made by signatories to the Charter so far. Since the last review, a further 36 financial services firms have signed up, making a public commitment to develop a more diverse and inclusive workforce.”

There is still a great deal to be done for the Charter to become a core part of the culture within financial services. What the event said to us above everything else, is that we all have a leading role to play as ‘agents of change’ in building a more balanced and fairer financial services sector and harnessing the amazing talents of women in the industry.”