We Don't Want To Be Pale, Male & Stale

Nationwide are thrilled to have been selected by Opportunity Now as the sponsor for their Awards for Excellence. Opportunity Now is the UK's leading women at work campaign from Business in the Community (BITC). Their 'Excellence in Practice Awards' celebrate organisations which strive to create work environments which truly promote equality at all levels, and put gender equality at the forefront of their priorities.

Our dedication to diversity saw us selected over strong competition, and become rewarded with a three-year sponsorship. BITC decided that our commitment to gender equality and reputation for responsible business made us the best candidate for sponsoring the awards.

In particular we were praised for our active role in the Opportunity Now Advisory Board, and our strong stance on the Facebook Ad pressure campaign in which we removed thousands of ads from the site due to their appearance next to misogynistic, sexist and violent content which we felt went strongly against our stance on equality for women.

The Acting Director for Opportunity Now, Kathryn Nawrockyi, said:

"We are proud to be working in partnership with Nationwide on the Opportunity Now Awards for Excellence. Its leadership as a responsible business is clear - not only was Nationwide recognised as a Times Top 50 Employer for Women this year, but the employer took a powerful stance when it withdrew its advertising from Facebook in response to a proliferation of gender violent and misogynist content on the site.

I am also pleased to be continuing our partnerships with CIPD, Cranfield School of Management and Government Equalities Office and to be launching a new partnership with UN Women UK on our Global Award".

Nationwide's Chief Operating Officer and Executive Sponsor for Nationwide's Women's Network, Tony Prestedge, added:

"Being involved with Opportunity Now is a fantastic coup as it not only enables us to showcase best practice to the industry, but provides the corporate backing that this issue desperately needs for change to be implemented.

Having a diverse workforce is incredibly important - we don't want to be pale, male and stale. But it cannot be about just ticking boxes. Hiring more women must be about appointing those who are the best candidates for the job, while the right candidates need to be identified for promotion opportunities. And there's no shortage of them - the vast majority of our workforce are actually women."

Our commitment to true diversity at all levels is evident, with over 65% of our staff being female and 63% of managers being women (double the average for financial services). Our strong emphasis on staff retention is the motivation behind our flexible and agile working style, which means that 80% of our employees return to us after maternity leave.

It's also of crucial importance to us that top jobs are just as accessible and that every one of our staff, regardless of their gender, be judged solely on their merit. 40% of employees taken onto our Next Generation Leadership Programme were women, and over 50% of our Future Leader Programme have been women.

We'll be presenting at the Diversity Careers Show 2013 on Friday 18th October, it's free to attend so just register here and come and say hello.

Visit the employee blog at Nationwide: http://www.nationwide-jobs.co.uk/blog.aspx

Are you interested in a career with Nationwide? Please click here.

VERCIDA works with over one hundred clients who are committed to creating an inclusive work environment. If you are an employer and interested in working with VERCIDA to promote your diversity and inclusion initiatives and attract the best candidates, please call 02037405973 or email [email protected] for more information.

We are also officially recommended by Disability Confident as a step on achieving Employer status, please click here for more information.