Breaking Biases in Capital Markets: WBR's Commitment to Amplifying Diverse Voices

Let's face it, the capital markets industry hasn’t exactly been known for its gender parity, especially at the top. It's a dynamic and influential industry, but for many women, the path to leadership can feel frustratingly narrow.

The statistics paint a clear picture. While 44% of the UK financial services workforce is female, a stark disparity emerges when we look at senior positions; the number of women in leadership roles plummets, highlighting a persistent need for progress.

The good news? There's a growing movement to change that narrative. Industry players are recognising the importance and benefits of increased DE&I, and we hope to use our WBR Capital Markets events as a platform to amplify diverse voices and champion female talent.

"DE&I is an increasingly important focus area across our capital markets meetings," says Lucy Bradley, Senior Divisional Director for the WBR Capital Markets portfolio. "Our partners and audiences are talking to us about their DE&I initiatives and need for greater action on this important issue and we aim to support the industry in achieving their goals," she emphasises. "We hope to leverage our two decades of experience in the capital markets industry to create a platform for positive change."

But how exactly are we tackling these issues at our events? Collaboration...

We're fortunate to collaborate with organisations who share our commitment to DE&I. We are actively teaming up with industry leaders like Bloomberg and UBS who are sharing key insights on how we can foster greater diversity in capital markets. This collaboration is highlighted in our event agendas, with our editors actively pursuing greater diversity across our speaker faculties. "We're working closely with our event partners to confirm DE&I thought leaders as speakers at our meetings," says Lucy. "It's encouraging to see increasing support from them as we build our 2024 agendas."

Our editors are also collaborating with event partners and industry heads to run dedicated DE&I working groups that create a network for current market leaders and emerging talent.

As well as running a series of mainstage discussions that drill down into the key challenges and opportunities for firms who are actively nurturing greater diversity across their business.

We’d like to extend our gratitude to the following, who are frequent advocates for our DE&I content at our meetings:

• Alison Hollingshead, Chief Operating Officer, Investment Management, Jupiter Asset Management
• Mariam Osman, Global COO Investment Operations, Blackrock
  
• Katherine Furber, Global Head Emerging Markets Trading, Bloomberg
• Paula Fry, Global Head of Fixed Income & FX Trading Liquidity, Bloomberg
  
• Lauren McAughtry, Managing Editor, Best Execution
• Sanaa Clausse, Senior Director, Head of Business Development, ICMA
• Katherine Holmes, Executive Director, Global Head of Marketing Strategy - Global Markets, UBS
• Sharon Persia, Chief of Staff, UBS

Through these kinds of collaborations, we've been able to enrich our events with dedicated sessions, including our Rising Stars content for emerging talent, Women in Digital Assets working groups and future skillsets workshops.

These sessions address current DE&I shortfalls and offer practical solutions, including how junior female traders in the market can be best supported. We are thrilled that our partners are generous enough to share what in-house initiatives they have to help talented females further progress in their careers.

Lucy tells us about a new initiative in 2024, “We have started to partner with Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officers as a tactical function within asset management and sell side firms, to get practical insights on what they're doing to help tackle the systemic issue within the industry and their role in helping to move the needle” and we are looking forward to hearing about this opportunity over the next year!

While we are aware that our efforts to bridge the gap are only the beginning and that this issue affects more than just the capital markets industry (with the gender pay gap remaining a pressing concern, currently sitting at 14.9% in the UK across all industries) we believe addressing this issue is crucial to attracting and retaining talented individuals, regardless of gender.

The WBR Capital Markets team are constantly seeking ways to improve and be more proactive. We believe in using our network and events as a platform for good, and we welcome your suggestions!

Let's work together to build a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive capital markets industry.