Santander named as a top employer for women

Santander has been recognised as a leader in workplace gender equality by being named a Top 50 Employer for Women in 2016.

In their sixth year, The Times Top 50 Employers for Women 2016 awards are published as a partnership between The Times and Business in the Community (BITC), the Prince of Wales’s Responsible Business Network, as part of the charity’s Responsible Business Week. This year’s list also celebrates 25 years of BITC campaigning for gender equality.

The bank, which employs around 20,000 people in the UK, was included in the list as an acknowledgement of the advances it has made to increase opportunities for women and create working environments where they can succeed and have successful careers.

Vicky Wallis, HR Director at Santander UK says: “We are delighted to have been recognised as one of the UK’s Top Employers for Women. This award is fantastic recognition of our work to deliver gender equality and to ensure women can fulfil their potential. We hope to inspire other employers to drive change.”

Kathryn Nawrockyi, Gender Equality Director at Business in the Community says: “Huge congratulations to Santander on being named in The Times Top 50 Employers for Women 2016 – the process was highly competitive, so they should be extremely proud of their success. They have demonstrated a commitment to fundamentally changing workplace processes and cultures to make them inclusive to all, benefitting women and men at every level in their organisation, and I hope they inspire other employers to do the same.”

The Times Top 50 Employers for Women list, published in association with Business in the Community, involves a comprehensive submission process managed by the gender equality campaign at Business in the Community. All organisations within the Top 50 have demonstrated that gender equality is a key part of their business strategy, with consistent commitment to creating workplaces and cultures that are inclusive of women from entry level through to senior leadership. The full alphabetical and unranked list can be found online at gender.bitc.org.uk/TTT502016.

The finalists of the Top Employers for Working Families 2016 awards were also announced this week, with Santander nominated in the ‘Best for Modern Families’ category. The Top Employers for Working Families Benchmark covers all aspects of workplace agility and flexibility, focusing on how employers support the work-life balance of all their staff – and particularly of parents and carers – across an organisation. Award winners are due to be announced in June.