Aegon Asset Management has increased the number of women working in senior roles in the UK.
A pledge to do this in April 2018 results in their now being 35% of senior roles occupied by women, compared to 22% back then.
The firm said this had exceeded its target, which was established when the firm committed to HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter.
Aegon AM had committed to a target of 30% by the end of 2021 and said that it had introduced a number of policies and actions to achieve this including holding itself to account through a transparent diversity scorecard, and introducing enhanced gender-neutral parental leave in the UK.
Other measures included:
• Refining hiring practices with a focus on inclusive recruitment and gender-balancing candidate lists and interview panels
• Building seven new internal inclusion & diversity (I&D) “communities” with board support, including one dedicated to advancing gender equality
• Partnering with organisations focused on building a pipeline of female talent, such as early careers programmes
• Continuing to work with The UK Diversity Project, which aims to accelerate progress towards an inclusive culture in the
The firm said it had also supported its people through the Covid-19 crisis with the “wellbeing needs and work-life balance”.
Stephen Jones, who is UK chief executive, said: “Inclusion and diversity is core to our culture and we are working across all locations including the UK on initiatives to improve our gender diversity at our senior leadership level.”
He added that the firm had embarked on an ‘inclusive leadership” programme of training for 100 leaders across the business, and that I&D education is mandatory for all existing employees and new joiners.
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