INvolve has released its latest HERoes Women Role Model Lists today, unveiling leaders championing women in business and gender diversity.
The lists are a global celebration of women in business who are playing a central role in breaking down gender diversity barriers at work; and using their positions to keep diversity and inclusion at the top of the business agenda. Three British Women are in the Top 10 Executive List of this year’s global HERoes Women Role Model List with Ann Cairns, Executive Vice Chair of Mastercard trailblazing as the top British woman on the list. She is joined in the Top Ten by Chair of KPMG UK, Bina Mehta, and Chair of the Deloitte Global Board of Directors, Sharon Thorne.
Meanwhile another British woman, Ramat Tejani, Programme Lead for Amazon Web Services, is named at number two in the HERoes Future Leaders List, which highlights those tipped for future leadership success. She is joined by three other women, all of whom have showcased incredible grit and determination to make the workplace a place of equal opportunity. These include Amrit Teja, Operations Manager of Digital Acceleration for National Grid; Shelina Janmohamed, Vice President of Islamic Marketing for Ogilvy and, for the third time in three years, Jenny Koo, Head of Operations Risk Management for Capital One.
PATH TO PARITY
Commenting on being listed for the second time running, Ann Cairns of Mastercard stated: “I am incredibly honoured to have featured in the INvolve global Women’s Role Model List for the second year running. But I am even more pleased to be able to draw attention to the importance of gender and broader diversity in business by doing so. I am committed to ensuring all women have the same chance of success as their male counterparts and that the business world reaps the benefit of accessing the whole talent pool. I know from my experience at Mastercard just how rewarding it can be to really invest in your brightest minds, irrespective of their gender or background.
As the chair of the 30% Club, which campaigns for greater female representation at board and executive level, she said she is “delighted the UK is on the path to parity at board level”. However she added that “there remains much more work to do if we’re ever to achieve gender balance at executive leadership level”.
“There are just eight female CEOs across the FTSE100 and women of colour remain woefully under-represented at every senior level,” noted Cairns. “That’s why the 30% Club has introduced race targets for our members, established a race equity group working with our established investor group and developed the Mission Include strand of our cross-company mentoring programme. The report by INvolve showcases just how much work there is still to do, and it’s imperative change begins now.”
BOLD PUSH FOR GENDER DIVERSITY
Jennie Koo, Head of Operations Risk Management for Capital One, believes that “the pandemic has opened people’s eyes to the challenges women face every day, all of which have been exacerbated by the crisis”. “According to a piece of research that I read only a few weeks ago, women would rather drop out of work completely than tackle any workplace issues – a shocking finding,” stated Koo. “Combined with the results of INvolve’s research, it’s clear that we are far away, too far away, from where we need to be in terms of gender equality in the workplace.”
“Organisations need to do more to push gender diversity expectations if we are to really see change post-pandemic,” she highlighted. “Businesses need to be bold; they need to address to root cause of any systemic gender disparity and they need to put tangible actions in place to drive for gender equality in the workplace.”
BOLSTERING NUMBER OF WOMEN IN BUSINESS
As KPMG UK’s first female Chair, KPMG Chair, Bina Mehta, said she is following in the footsteps of “many women who have paved the way in the firm’s 150-year history, each of them having strived to bolster the representation of women in business, whilst encouraging the next generation to follow”.
“KPMG UK has long championed inclusion, diversity and equity and I’m proud of the many ways our firm has pushed the agenda forward,” said Mehta. “There is still work to be done to eradicate the structural and cultural barriers that exist for women and other historically under-represented groups.”
TOP 100 WOMEN EXECUTIVES
The Top 10 women executives (out of 100), who are leading by example and driving change to increase gender diversity in the workplace include:
1. Megan Clarken, Chief Executive Officer, Criterio
2. Lisa Osborne Ross, US CEO, Edelman
3. Ann Cairns, Executive Vice Chair, Mastercard
4. Michelle Wee, CEO, Standard Chartered Bank Vietnam
5. Bina Mehta, Chair, KPMG UK
6. Kathy Reardon, Executive Vice President – Chief People Officer, Dollar General Corporation
7. Sharon Thorne, Chair of the Deloitte Global Board of Directors, Deloitte
8. Tricia Griffith, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Progressive Organisation
9. Masami Katakura, Chairwoman & CEO, EY Shinnihon LLC
10. Susanne Schaffert, Global President, Novartis Oncology, Novartis
TOP 100 WOMEN FUTURE LEADERS
The top 10 (out of 100) leading women making a significant contribution to gender diversity at work, include:
- Marilyn Lin, Interim Head of MuleSoft Global Customer Support, Salesforce
2. Ramat Tejani, Programme Lead, Amazon Web Services
3. Diana Velarde, Delivering Deal Value Director, PwC Mexico
4. Amrit Teja, Operations Manager, Digital Acceleration, National Grid
5. Melisa Turano, Head of Lending TM and MAM Argentina, HSBC Bank Argentina
6. Shelina Janmohamed, Vice President, Islamic Marketing, Ogilvy
7. Alison Kessler, Product Director, HIS Markit
8. Leya Teo, Vice President, Edelman
9. Jennie Koo, Head of Operations Risk Management, Capital One
10. Rhonda Childress, Business Information Security Officer, IBM in support of Kyndryl
TOP 35 EXECUTIVE ADVOCATES
Who are the male ally advocates dedicated to creating more dierse and inclusive environments? This year’s top 10 leaders (out of a list of 35), include:
1. Keith Barr, CEO, IHG
2. Shinbo Won, Head of Asia ex-Japan, BlackRock Investment Stewardship, BlackRock
3. Ivan Menezes, Chief Executive, Diageo
4. Sean Fan, Partner/Managing Director, Chairman of Goldman Sachs Gao Hua Securities Company Limited, Co-Head China Investment Banking Division, Goldman Sachs Gau Hua Securities Company Ltd
5. Simon Cooper, CEO, Corporate, Commercial & Institutional Banking and CEO, Europe & Americas, Standard Chartered Bank
6. Ron O’Hanley, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, State Street Corporation
7. David Kenny, CEO, Nielson
8. Howard Ungerleider, President and Chief Financial Officer, Dow
9. Luke Ellis, Chief Executive Officer, Man Group
10. Robert Fairbairn, Vice Chairman and Co-Chair of Human Capital Committee, BlackRock
The HERoes Role Model Lists, supported by Yahoo Finance UK, is one of three sets of role model lists produced annually by INvolve, a consultancy which champions diversity and inclusion in business. Click here to see the full lists.
GENDER EQUALITY RESEARCH
INvolve has also published new research alongside the lists which reveals that just 12% of employees actually believe there is gender equality in their place of work. Click here to read more.
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