E2W Recruitment Tips and Insights

Mark.Freed / 27 Nov 2017

In the summer of 2017, E2W carried out a survey of its’ members on their experiences of the recruitment process.  Several gender-recruitment influenced questions were asked including the impact on the process of having a female hiring manager.  “Notably, those with a female hiring manager were...

Introducing - E2W Select

Mark.Freed / 22 Nov 2017

Are you a woman pursuing your career at senior levels in Technology or Front Office? Do you want a confidential way of exploring new career opportunities? If so, E2W ‘Select’ is for you. Moving towards a more gender-balanced workforce is a strategic imperative for our clients. Balanced...

Hampton-Alexander Review - women on FTSE boards

Mark.Freed / 15 Nov 2017

I was honoured to be invited to the launch of the second Hampton-Alexander Review earlier this month, an inspiring and encouraging event.  The Hampton-Alexander Review is an independent review body which builds on the excellent work of the Davies Review to increase the number of women on FTSE boards...

Would you work for the remainder of the year without pay?

Mark.Freed / 11 Nov 2017

Would you work for the remainder of the year without pay? Today - Friday marks Equal Pay Day in the UK. It’s the day on which women, as a whole, effectively stop earning money based on the official gender pay gap that still persists. Because the gap moves,...

E2W Sponsored Student Freya recently attended an Insight Day and shares her experience.

Rhian Bowler / 10 Nov 2017

E2W and the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investments (CISI) have launched a programme to encourage more girls to consider the financial services’ sector as a career path.  The E2W career coach, Rhian Bowler shares more details of the programme and insight from one of this...

The ideal vs reality -  Just sound bites vs understanding what it’s really like at the coal face

Mark.Freed / 05 Nov 2017

In the last ten days, three high-profile women, including Theresa May, have spoken out about improving gender diversity in financial organisations.  Mark Freed writes an open letter to them to share his experiences of life at the coal face.   Theresa May – Prime Minister Nicky Morgan ...

“Fearless Girl” meet “Savvy Investor.”

Mark.Freed / 16 Oct 2017

A news piece on the BBC recently caught my eye regarding a girl and a bull. This was no fairy tale though and reading on I realised that the story had a far bigger tale to tell about ‘investing with impact’ and financial products driving...

If your recruitment partner tells you they can only find qualified male candidates, they’re wrong

Mark.Freed / 11 Oct 2017

Mark Freed E2W CEO says "If your recruitment partner tells you they can only find qualified male candidates, they’re probably wrong."  Meeting gender targets that enable businesses to collect the gender dividend depend on them being able to recruit more women. If you are...

Gender Diversity - “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used to create them.”

Mark.Freed / 05 Oct 2017

This week E2W CEO, Mark Freed, does the maths to show what banks will need to do to meet their gender diversity commitments and makes some practical suggestions about what needs to change in the recruitment process. “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting...

Keeping ‘mum’ or going ‘public’?

Mark.Freed / 02 Oct 2017

Here at E2W, we face problems and opportunities on a daily basis - big and small - that's the nature of business.  I worry most about hidden problems and missed opportunities, those that no one recognises.  These represent risks to the business or a failure to...

What will risk look like in the future?  Careers in Risk

Mark.Freed / 20 Sep 2017

On September 19th thirty members of E2W’s Risk Team  and our guest panel met to discuss careers in risk, the trends we are seeing and the skills that will be required to work in the risk function of the future.  It was really interesting to...

Women’s Experiences in the Recruitment Process - Survey Report Sept 2017

Mark.Freed / 16 Sep 2017

In a world where financial institutions are signing the Women in Finance Charter and those same institutions are making commitments such as a 50/50 male/female workforce by 2020, can you believe that almost a third of women applying for positions in financial services feel disadvantaged because of their gender? We asked...

How do you answer the question about the business case for gender diversity in Financial Services?

Mark.Freed / 15 Sep 2017

A woman’s touch Generally, we think of mining as being a male dominated industry: mining conjures up images of black faced men and boys, blinking in the sunlight as they come above ground after a very hard day’s labour.  In this industry women have...

The E2W Recruitment Survey

Mark.Freed / 08 Sep 2017

In a world where financial institutions are signing the Women in Finance Charter, making commitments such as a 50/50 male/female workforce by 2020 & reporting their gender pay gap data, can you believe that almost a third of women applying for positions in financial services feel disadvantaged because of their gender? ...

Do you recruit the ‘best person for the job’  or the ‘best person for the team’?

Mark.Freed / 05 Sep 2017

All the evidence points to the fact that diverse teams perform better.  Diverse teams help organisations attract a diverse client base; diverse teams accelerate innovation; diverse teams boost morale and staff retention.  Why, then, are we still recruiting for the ‘best person for the job’ and...

Without a strong pipeline of young women entering and thriving in the industry – what’s the point?

Mark.Freed / 11 Aug 2017

Six "A" level students with a desire to follow a career in financial services are keen to get your help and support.  E2W and the CISI are working together to launch a pilot programme in September to encourage more girls into financial services. Additionally, we aim...

Inappropriate Interview Questions

Mark.Freed / 03 Aug 2017

This week, a female politician reached the highest rank of her political party, a promotion to be celebrated – she is only the second woman to hold the role. Just seven hours into her position she was asked whether it would be acceptable for her to take maternity leave should...

Aiming for 50/50 gender balance by 2020

Mark.Freed / 21 Jul 2017

If you are aiming for 50/50 gender balance by 2020 you will need access to a community of talented women to recruit.  E2W have built and managed a community that provides career-long support for senior women in financial services. We know of over 5,000 women working in London and New York. ...

Targets & Time - How valuable are they in achieving gender parity?

Mark.Freed / 29 Jun 2017

Previously, we’ve discussed the value of gender targets in the move towards gender-balanced workforces, and despaired that at the current pace of progress it will take over a century until gender parity is established at all levels across financial services.  Targets have been valuable in making...

When talented women are overlooked and their abilities wasted, nobody wins.

Mark.Freed / 04 Jun 2017

When we look at the data and results of strategies or hear the success stories of high achievers, how do we interpret the information they provide us? Typically, we concentrate on what lead to the positive results or accomplishments. But what about the other side?  This tendency to focus...