Morgan Stanley was the first US investment bank to sign the Women in Finance Charter which is testament to their commitment to gender diversity.  The Morgan Stanley board, EMEA CEO and the bank’s Diversity Action Council (DAC) focus greatly on gender diversity strategy and accountability and this filters down within the organisation.

The DAC is a key driver behind the gender diversity effort, providing thought leadership, collaborating with the Diversity & Inclusion and Talent teams and meeting monthly to discuss progress and initiatives. 

“The Diversity Action Council plays a key role in driving our female recruitment, retention and development strategy and corresponding initiatives. Actively managing development, promotion and succession planning is essential to increasing female representation at senior levels. Our 4P Talent Track initiative (performance, profile, platform and potential) and working with the managers of high-potential women is a major focus for 2018.” 

Head of UK Equity Sales and Co-Chair of the EMEA Diversity Action Council

E2W Comment –  It is clear to us that the Morgan Stanley’s leadership team are truly committed to diversity. They have not only taken responsibility themselves but have properly delegated responsibility and empowered agents of change within the business to ensure that change happens. 

Morgan Stanley are again featured in The Times Top 50 Employers for Women 2018 and have just announced Clare Woodman as their new head of Europe, the Middle East and Africa - the first woman to lead a major investment bank in the City.

Morgan Stanley is closely monitoring its candidate shortlist and interview list with regard to diversity.  In 2017 over 60% of both candidate and interview shortlists had at least one woman and the bank is eager to improve these statistics.  It has been reviewing its recruitment partners and E2W, amongst others, has been selected – we too are eager to improve the statistics and relish the opportunity to help the bank achieve their recruitment targets. 

Morgan Stanley say, 

“As the Diversity Action Council representative for Technology, I regularly share granular divisional diversity metrics with the Management team, in particular, female experienced hire results by department. Increased data transparency, accountability and enhanced creative sourcing efforts have been instrumental in helping us double our female experienced hire numbers in 2017.” 

EMEA Head of Infrastructure Technology, Global Head of Enterprise Computing and EMEA Diversity Action Council Representative for Technology

E2W Comment –  The Morgan Stanley recruitment team are openly engaged in helping the firm to meet its gender (and other) diversity commitments and will go the extra mile to find and support candidates from diverse backgrounds.   

Morgan Stanley has a two pronged attack when it comes to maintaining a fluid female pipeline of talent.  It places a strong focus on young women, with school and university outreach programmes and for high potential women within the organisation, the bank has strengthened its mentoring and sponsorship partnerships.  They also provide a range of leadership programmes for both junior and senior women employees, to equip them with the necessary skills, networks and platforms to achieve their potential. 

“To increase the number of women promoted to senior positions in Financial Services, they need mentors to help them navigate through situations, expand their networks and become better connected within their organisation. They also need sponsors to help pull them up. Growing the pipeline of women to move into more senior positions is firmly and visibly a priority for senior management at Morgan Stanley. It’s great to see the progress we are making, but there is more to do.” 

CEO of Morgan Stanley Bank International and co-head of the Loan Solutions Group

E2W Comment – Morgan Stanley were one of the first to run a returner programme and theirs is one of the most successful in terms of outcomes.  

Morgan Stanley has implemented several changes to the way the organisation works which demonstrate support for its staff.

• Manager education – Morgan Stanley understands the importance of sound management and provides training on inclusive leadership, providing regular feedback and nurturing careers as well as topics such as unconscious bias.   
• Family Network – supports parents and carers, providing training and coaching and peer support.  Women are supported before, during and after maternity leave and paternity leave has recently been doubled from two to four weeks. 
• Work Smart – this is a new campaign for 2018 which promotes flexible working arrangements, both formal and informal with senior managers leading the charge. 

“Managers are key to retaining employees in any organisation…I think we are at an exciting time in the Financial Services industry in looking at diversity, and the industry is in a position to make real change. Retention of diverse talent is a crucial part of the equation, and it comes down to individual managers who are key to making this happen.” 

Head of Risk Management for Fixed Income, EMEA