Written by Lila Pleban, Chief Communications Officer, FSCS
In celebration of International Women’s Day today, Lila Pleban, Chief Communications Officer, Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) shares some of the learnings from her own career as well as why operating an inclusive culture has brought benefits to FSCS with IFA Magazine.
Your background shouldn’t determine your future. And yet, for many in our society, this is the reality. That’s why I believe that organisations of all kinds should do more to help people from all backgrounds thrive at work, while improving their own day-to-day productivity.
This is the key objective of socio-economic diversity, an important element of this year’s International Women’s Day theme: #EmbraceEquity and one which resonates with me as I’ll proceed to explain in this blog.
On a mission
At FSCS, we’re on a mission to achieve an equitable experience for all, creating a diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone can successfully reach both their personal and professional goals. We recognise the many benefits of fostering a socio-economically diverse culture: this increases productivity, provides greater innovations, and improves decision making through diversity of thought. Equally importantly, it allows us to deliver an excellent service to our customers by reflecting their diversity, and that of our stakeholders, through all our work.
The correlation between socio-economic background and career progression isn’t just a belief we hold. Research by our not-for-profit partner Progress Together, a membership body that aims to create an inclusive environment for everyone in the UK financial services sector, found that employees from working class backgrounds progress 25% slower than peers, with zero link to performance. For employees who also identify as black, this figure rises to 32%, according to the Bridge Group. Those affected are not only weighed down by feelings of stagnation, but also report being exhausted by efforts to conform to dominant cultures. This poses the risk that high-performing talent will migrate to other, more inclusive, sectors, counteracting the inclusive culture we’re aiming to create within financial services.
Walking the talk
This is something that speaks to me personally. I was brought up in a council house. My father was in the service industry, my mother, a stay-at-home mum. We didn’t have much, and I didn’t get the best education. Yet I was fortunate enough to make it through the ranks to become Chief Communications Officer at FSCS, through a combination of hard work, networking, and determination pushing me at every turn.
It wasn’t easy because my profile didn’t quite fit the typical mould. Though I’ve always been bright, I’ve experienced soul-destroying periods where I was told to act more ‘corporately’. Been advised to go and get a degree, told it would help me achieve so much more. But the worst? ‘Why don’t you go and get yourself a “poise coach”? I can recommend someone.’
In November 2017, I found myself working at FSCS in a head of department role, and was quickly spotted by David Blackburn, our Chief People Officer. He recognised my talent and encouraged me to enrol on the High Potential Talent programme, sponsoring my progress along the way. Within a year, the opportunity for Chief Communications Officer came along, and the rest, as they say, is history.
But things could have been very different
I sometimes think about how differently things could have turned out if I hadn’t found myself within an organisation that works so hard to cultivate an inclusive culture. FSCS is a Disability Positive Employer, and a proud signatory of the Race at Work, and Women in Finance Charters. It’s this commitment to diversity that makes our partnership with Progress Together, so fitting.
Particularly focused on improving socio-economic diversity at senior levels within the industry, Progress Together understands the importance of not only representing people from all backgrounds within financial services, but also ensuring that they’re in positions where they have the power and influence to instigate real change. This is especially crucial for women from working class backgrounds, who – as Progress Together shows – make up just 12.25% of the senior leadership workforce. Couple this with the fact that only 21% of women have asked for a pay rise and been successful, compared to 31% of men, according to YouGov research. No wonder, for most women, navigating the financial services industry can seem like an uphill battle.
But we have the power, and the responsibility to change that. So, this International Women’s Day, I urge you to look around and consider the talent that surrounds you. See the shining stars that don’t quite fit the mould or may not follow the usual career pathway. Then nurture them and create a fertile ground for them to thrive… the rewards are bountiful. #EmbraceEquity.
