INVESTING IN ETHNICITY - ETHNICITY AWARDS
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BIO
JOANNA SYMES, BNY MELLON

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Job Title and Company
Head of Diversity & Inclusion, Europe, Middle East and Africa, BNY Mellon
 
WHY ARE YOU PASSIONATE ABOUT BAME?
Last year, I read some research that suggested there is just one BAME FTSE 100 CEO for every 2.3 million BAME people in the UK, when compared with one white CEO for every 600,000 white people. I found these figures illuminating. Diversity is a business imperative that sparks innovation, fuels transformation and has proven business impact.  Many organisations have made low profile efforts to increase representation of people from diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds in the workplace but to achieve a real result, I believe it needs an alignment of industry, government and civil society to accelerate progress. Whilst I, like many, welcome the soon to be released ‘Parker Review’, Beyond One by 21, examining directors positions held by those of colour I believe change needs to be wider and accelerated to deliver real impact. For people of diverse ethnic or racial backgrounds, the ceiling still seems all too real and high.

WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
Improvements are needed at all stages in the career pipeline, from the most senior executives to those coming in as school leavers. We need to see a powerful cultural change in thinking and approach, similar to the paradigm shift we are seeing in business attitudes towards gender equality. Senior business leaders have a significant role in taking ownership of this important issue and driving transformational change within their organisations to reap the many benefits that ethnic diversity bring. Ultimately, if businesses want to continue to attract the best talent, they need to be reflective of the talent in the specific market they are operating in, and offer a work environment that employees want to be a part of today and tomorrow.

WHAT’S YOUR ORGANISATION DOING WELL?
For BNY Mellon, diversity and inclusion are fundamentals for successful operations as they foster creativity, innovation and perspectives to help us attract and retain talent for our company to succeed and deliver for our clients and shareholders. Our senior team is accountable, and we have goals to ensure we foster a fully inclusive environment. Our employee resource group, IMPACT supports the company's commitment to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. By serving as a global resource, IMPACT focuses on the recruitment, retention, professional development and advancement of multicultural employees across our organisation.

ADDITIONAL SPM INITIATIVES

Top 100 BAME Leaders
Top 100 in partnership with Green Park was launched in the House of Lords in partnership with The Times.

Contact Us

For more information email: sarahg@spmgroup.co.uk, margaret@spmgroup.co.uk or call
(+44) 07912105580 (Office Hours during weekdays: 10am - 5pm)

ABOUT SPM GROUP
We have been working within the diversity & inclusion space for over 15 years and have a proven track record of working in-house with over 80 organisations in diverse sectors across FTSE 250, multi-nationals, Government agencies, public sector agencies, consultants and SMEs. Find out more.
www.spmgroup.co.uk

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  • Home
  • Allies
  • Members
    • Digital sessions
    • Membership
    • Members App
  • Awards
    • Top 100+
  • Matrix
  • Resources
    • Ethnicity Pay Gap Reporting
    • Resources - Language
    • Resources - Data >
      • EPG Round Table
    • Reports >
      • IER report 2017
      • McGregor-Smith Report: Race in the Workplace
      • Sir John Parker Report: Ethnic Diversity of UK Boards
      • Delivery Diversity Report from CMI and BAM
  • News
  • Conference
    • AGENDA
    • SPEAKERS
    • FACILITATORS
  • More...
    • Board >
      • Press
      • Rob Elsey - Bank of England
      • Lord DR Hastings of Scarishbrick CBE
      • Patrick Vernon OBE
      • Josh Krichefski
      • Lisa Mayhew
      • Michael Cole-Fontayn
      • Benny Higgins
      • Ian Stuart
      • Heather Lawrence OBE
      • Anthony Poulton
      • Simon Davies
      • Alex Mahon
    • In-house
    • Top 100 >
      • Top Leaders 1
      • Top Leaders 2
      • Top Leaders 3
      • Top Leaders 4