October 1, 2023 • 17 mins
Ever wondered what your role in gender equality might be? Listen to this week's podcast with Andy Coyne, IT Director at Barclays, to find out. Together, we're rewriting the narrative on gender equality, placing the spotlight on the critical role male allies play.
Andy shares his insights on the need to champion diversity and how every individual can contribute. Embarking on this exciting journey towards true gender equality isn't a solo venture - it calls for a collective effort where every action counts. This episode emphasises how we can collectively challenge our biases, create opportunities, and foster an environment of inclusivity. Listening, understanding, and resonating with the lived experiences of others is key to driving this change.
Listen to learn:
🎙 Why we need to advocate for gender equality in the workplace
🎙 The vital role that allies play
🎙 The importance of listening to lived experiences
🎙How you can advocate for gender equality!
Find out more about We Are PoWEr here. 💫
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
The Northern Power Women podcast for your career
and your life, no matter whatbusiness you're in.
Welcome to another episode ofthe Northern Power Women podcast
.
I'm your host, samem Roche, andtoday we've got something new
and exciting to discuss.
We've been teamed up with ourincredible partners at Barclays
to introduce a groundbreakingnew campaign that's set to
(00:42):
reshape the conversation aroundgender equality and particularly
male allies.
We've always, from day one whenI set Northern Power Women up,
we've always talked about allgenders.
We've always championeddiversity and inclusion.
Today, we take it a step furtherwith our brand new advocacy
list, and this list, which ispart of our game changes, is
going to sit alongside ourfuture and power list, which
(01:04):
have been around since the startof the Northern Power Awards.
This male advocacy list is thechance to shine and put a
spotlight on those exceptionalmale allies who are making a
significant impact in the questfor wider inclusivity and gender
equality.
We are massive fans of allyshipbecause we know that, together
with Barclays, we know thatwe're determined to celebrate
(01:26):
those who go above and beyond tosupport us gaining equity.
So please do go over toweourpowernet, which is our
digital hub, to make anomination in the Northern Power
Women Awards to thoseoutstanding male allies who
deserve to be recognized fortheir commitment.
So let's make sure we get thosestories out there to inspire,
(01:46):
to make change and pave the wayfor a more inclusive future.
And today I'm delighted to bejoined by Andy Coyne, who is
going to talk about theimportance of this collaboration
and discuss the importance ofmale allies in the workplace.
We met a few weeks ago when wedid a brilliant live event
around male allyship at BarclaysRadbroke Hall, andy, welcome
welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Thanks, simone, and thank you for the invite.
Really great to be here withyou today.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
Tell us about your role at Barclays.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
So I've been with Barclays 13 years now.
I'm pretty long career, veryvaried, and as of today, I'm the
CIO for branch self service anddesktop technology.
So again, every day completelydifferent, with completely
different stakeholders andcompletely different challenges.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Wow, that's an extensive brief.
I think I need a desktopspecialist, especially every in
advance of every podcast.
So we talked about the NorthernPower Awards and us creating
this advocacy list.
It's a really exciting new sortof campaign for us.
What does it mean to you andthe team at Barclays?
Speaker 2 (02:50):
So look again, very similar to what you said.
The advocacy list for us issomething that we're super
thrilled to have co-created andsponsored through the
partnership that we've got withNorthern Power Women.
I think the first thing I'd sayis you know, we recognize at
Barclays that there's a problem.
Gender diversity in theworkplace is something that
(03:10):
we've been focused on for a longtime, but we've not really been
able to get a handle on exactlyhow we can measure and drive
behaviors differently.
So I think ultimately the listwill allow us to kind of
spotlight male allies, leadersand Influencers generally who
believe in and kind of activelydrive that campaign for equality
(03:32):
and wider inclusivity.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
And I think that's really key, isn't it is why will
we set this up?
What do we want to achieve withthis?
As I say, a few weeks ago, wewere over at the delightful
complex over at Radbook Hall,which is your massive HQ in the
north, and we did a session,didn't we?
A live session, which was, Ithought, what was really
interesting is the focus on sortof early careers as well, as
(03:59):
you know, sort of the leadershipteam that's.
That's quite important to you,isn't it?
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Yeah, 100%.
And I think you know there wasa couple of questions on the day
, if you remember about.
You know, can I reallyinfluence, even if I'm an early
stage in my career?
How do I get involved?
How do I make sure that I'mpart of the journey that's
happening?
And I think the one thing thatI definitely say is anybody can
you know, enter into theadvocacy list, whether you
(04:25):
identify as a male or not.
You know we have to champion adifferent behavior and for us,
coming from grassroots, all theway to the senior people that
have been in the bank for such along time, we have to
collectively make a differenceand ultimately pay it forward to
the next generation.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Yeah, I think that's really important.
I think one of the things onthe day I was on a panel with
Ilka Ilka Eman, your managingdirector, and who's been
instrumental in making sort ofthe advocacy list reality.
In fact, it started with aconversation with some of the
team at Barclays where we'relike, well, actually, the awards
this year was really exciting.
(05:04):
We were really great to be partof it, and it was literally
during that live conversationthat we were having on a team's
or Zoom call that we were likewhy don't we do something more?
Because why don't we dosomething more with that?
If you've got your own, youknow, sort of community of male
allies, why don't we use this asa platform to build that
(05:25):
community?
Why is this so important forBarclays?
And but equally, was it reallyimportant for leaders,
especially male leaders, tosupport this campaign?
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Yeah.
So I think for me it probablyresonates with everyone that all
leaders have a significantlevel of influence.
But what people might not knowis just how stark the imbalance
of power is.
When you look across, you knowall industries as a whole.
10% of CEOs on the FTSE 100 arefemale.
Less than 5% of CEOs in theFTSE 250 are female, which is
(06:02):
pretty dire in terms of thestats.
But when you look even deeper atthe data and the profit margins
for these companies, then ifcompanies with less than a third
of women on their exactcommittees performed as well as
those with over a third of women, then there's an extra £58
billion of pre-tax profit on thetable.
So you know, when you look atnumbers from a business
(06:23):
perspective, they're there, youknow, to be seen.
But for me it's much simpler.
It's about being fair,equitable and doing the right
thing, and for me, as a male,and Ilka and all the other
people, that can be fantasticrole models.
We set the example to speak up,support women and some of the
other gender minorities thatyou've talked about today.
(06:45):
So you know, given the stats onmales, the fact that we've got
such a big platform, that meansthat automatically we've got
greater visibility, the messagehas a natural reach to a much
wider audience.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
Absolutely, and I think it is the starting of that
community to be able to go so,because sometimes I think men
can be labeled as the, you know,as the enemy.
You know it's men versus womenand we've never been like that,
from the start of creatingNorthern Power Women, you know,
even before the awards came intopass, it was always really
important to me that we need togather and collect and corral
(07:21):
our male agents of change, youknow.
So it's something that we'vealways said.
It's all genders and reallyimportant that you know
everyone's at the table andthat's negative language, isn't
it to use sort of the enemy, ormen or them?
You know that conversation it'snot so much.
Why does it need to change?
If conversations need to change, but it's, how can we make that
(07:43):
conversation change, isn't it?
Speaker 2 (07:46):
100% and I think, look, you know, being honest and
sat here, having listened andseen to some of the behaviours
in various companies throughoutmy career, then I can kind of
appreciate the sentiment to someextent.
But to your point, if we're tobe successful in achieving any
level of equality across all ofthe different minority groups,
(08:08):
then the only way that we can dothat is by conquering it
together, and I think effectiveleadership has to aim to involve
all people, of all genders, butclearly men have a crucial role
to play in that.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
And I go back to sort of my early days, before we
talked, before I was in theRoyal Navy at the time and you
know we weren't talking aboutgender equality or, you know,
inequality it was.
But I remember, you know, I hadthat male advocate, that male
ally, that male sponsor Isuppose I would now call, who
(08:43):
sort of tapped me on theshoulder and said I think you
need to progress up the ranks.
Oh, my gosh, that's not for me.
And he didn't sort of sort oftake it as that and sort of go
and do something else or go andchampion someone else.
He sort of went no, no, no, Ineed to explain why.
I think that you would.
This will be a good opportunityfor you.
And he sort of painted thepicture and took time, took time
(09:05):
to sort of sit with me andexplain and then when we decided
to go on the journey, he waswith me.
And I think you know every maleadvocate journey can be
different and I know when we'vetalked about this previously,
sometimes I can see people sortof lean out, thinking, gosh, I
don't want to be patronizingtowards women, I don't want to,
(09:28):
you know, or I haven't gotenough power to do something
with, but it's the small thingsthat can matter.
Tell us about some of thethings that male advocates can
really do, because it can bejust those small ripple effects.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Yeah and look.
The first thing is making surethat you get involved and you
start to learn, you start tounderstand, and I've heard you
ask other people, simone, inprevious podcasts, if you always
had that passion.
Have you always been inspiredto go and make a difference?
And I can honestly sit here andsay no, I probably haven't,
which you know.
(10:01):
I admit, because only bygetting involved and over the
past couple of years have Istarted to develop my
understanding.
I've come through a world oftechnology, engineering and just
looking around the room atanother 50 white males.
There's just been kind of quitenormal, I suppose, in that
(10:22):
career path.
But until you actually start toget properly involved, educate
yourself, understanding wherethe problems are, it's only then
that you can start to make adifference.
And then, to your point, it isthe small things.
It's about challenging whereyou see bias.
It's about giving opportunitiesto people that haven't always
(10:43):
had those opportunities.
It's about taking a chance.
It's about being a little bitmore supportive, about, you know
, work-life balance, making surethat you know if we can provide
extra support for workingdifferent hours, for different
opportunities in different partsof different teams and
(11:06):
effectively mentoring andsponsoring people whenever you
get the opportunity.
I think that's the key for meputting yourself out there.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
Yeah, and let me say it's the small things.
It's sometimes just a case oflistening, just having an
appreciation, isn't it, andbeing curious about what that
other person's lived experiencesor what their challenges are,
or you know where there areopportunities that they can have
ahead.
It's just sometimes, I think,but the biggest thing that we
can ever give another human istime.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
Yeah, 100%, and I think by doing that that does
start to enable that platformfor learning, for developing.
You know, the best kind ofmoments that I've had through my
career is by listening toothers.
It's not by coming and talkingall the time, it's by taking
that information on board.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
And one of the things about this whole mail advocacy
list, which is, as I say, aspart of our Northern Power Women
Awards, is that it's not justwe always talk about the awards
not being about one night.
We talk about it.
You know, this is aboutbuilding a community, being able
to come together when we bringthis first list together to be
able to go well, actually, right, we're together.
(12:18):
Now what can we do collectivelyto sort of send that message
out there as to what otherpeople can do, because sometimes
it'll be like, well, I don'tknow what I can do, so how do
you?
That's what I hope.
I hope that this will createthat real sense of community and
equally, then give us the greatstories that we can take and
(12:38):
share out there.
How do you hope that this newmail advocacy list will inspire
others to act?
Speaker 2 (12:44):
Yeah, and I'm in a very similar space to you.
For me it's simple.
You know, we created the listto spotlight mail allies,
leaders, other influences whoreally believe in and actively
drive that gender equality andinclusivity.
I think for me personally, I'mnot a huge storyteller, but
(13:06):
these are stories that are builtaround hard facts that speak
for themselves.
It will allow kind of that,allow us to build the contagious
momentum to spread word andstart making change happen.
I think the one thing that youknow, we all know, life can
quickly come and quickly go, andit would be crazy if we miss an
(13:28):
opportunity to let it gowithout making a difference.
And that's what's always in mymind.
We have a real problem.
We can make a difference.
We can do that collectivelythrough these small things and
hopefully that will inspireothers to do the same.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
And I know when we got together at a rubroke, there
was this somebody who is not asenior was not part of the
senior leadership and so sayingwhat can I do?
Have I got something that I cando?
I think that's one of thethings here, isn't it?
It is not just for positions ofleadership, it's for everybody
to be able to be part of, and Ithink where we want this you
(14:05):
talk about sort of measurementof your life it'd be great to be
able to this is open toeverybody, isn't it?
It's not just for one set ofindividuals within an
organization.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Yes, bottom.
For me it is about gettingpeople from all the levels,
because again we're here talkingabout gender diversity, but
diversity in general whetherthat's people just starting on
their career, people finishingtheir career, ethnicity,
different backgrounds all comingtogether to make a difference.
And some of the best ideas andbest thoughts that we've had
(14:40):
inside Barclays is from ourjunior colleagues just joining
for the first time, because lifeto them versus life to me 20
years on in the industry is verydifferent.
So everybody can make adifference and everybody needs
to get involved.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
And that was interesting.
I think one of those colleaguesis saying well, why are we even
having this at all?
It's 2023, this shouldn't evenbe a thing, so that's a great
way.
Like you said, that's thatreverse mentorship, isn't it
when you learn off the talentcoming through?
Speaker 2 (15:10):
Completely and I definitely have some sympathy
with those thoughts and thoseideas.
But unfortunately, the datadoesn't lie and for us inside
Barclays, we're still 70% male.
In the technology space and inthe broader industry, we have
huge problems, especially in theSTEM based kind of environment
(15:34):
where people coming throughuniversity still less than 25%
are female.
So, spot on, we need to getwith the times.
It's 2023, but all of uscollectively have a word to do
to make it happen.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
And this is it, isn't it?
The new list will not changeeverything overnight, but it's
the start of building acommunity, the start of enabling
a conversation, it's the startof shining a light on the
brilliant male advocates outthere, and I'm so grateful for
Barclays jumping on and not justsort of saying, oh, we're going
to come and partner with you onthis, we're absolutely going to
be totally behind and ensurethis has got that impact and the
(16:11):
intention that we want this andthe individuals to be part of
it to have.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
Yep 100%.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
Thank you, Andy, so much.
Really looking forward to it.
We're really excited.
Please do get nominating in theNorthern Power Women Awards.
We are powernet.
That's where you can find allof the nomination information.
Awards nominations are openuntil the 4th of October.
So please get those fingers onthat keyboard and take that time
to recognise a role model.
(16:37):
Andy, thank you so much forjoining me today.
Massive thank you to theBarclays Massive as well for
enabling this to happen andenable us to have this really
open conversation aroundadvocacy.
Thank you for joining us.
Speaker 2 (16:50):
Thanks, simone, appreciate the time.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
And thanks all of you for listening.
Please do get out there andnominate and remember to please
join in our weekly conversationson the Northern Power Women
Podcast.
Subscribe, drop us an email oreven share on all our socials at
North Power Women on Twitter orX as it is now, and Northern
Power Women and all the othersocial medias.
Please do stay connected witheverything that we're doing.
(17:14):
My name is Simone.
This is the Northern PowerWomen Podcast.
At what Goes on MediaProductions.
The Northern Power Women podcast for your career
and your life, no matter whatbusiness you're in.
Welcome to another episode ofthe Northern Power Women podcast
.
I'm your host, samem Roche, andtoday we've got something new
and exciting to discuss.
We've been teamed up with ourincredible partners at Barclays
to introduce a groundbreakingnew campaign that's set to
(00:42):
reshape the conversation aroundgender equality and particularly
male allies.
We've always, from day one whenI set Northern Power Women up,
we've always talked about allgenders.
We've always championeddiversity and inclusion.
Today, we take it a step furtherwith our brand new advocacy
list, and this list, which ispart of our game changes, is
going to sit alongside ourfuture and power list, which
(01:04):
have been around since the startof the Northern Power Awards.
This male advocacy list is thechance to shine and put a
spotlight on those exceptionalmale allies who are making a
significant impact in the questfor wider inclusivity and gender
equality.
We are massive fans of allyshipbecause we know that, together
with Barclays, we know thatwe're determined to celebrate
(01:26):
those who go above and beyond tosupport us gaining equity.
So please do go over toweourpowernet, which is our
digital hub, to make anomination in the Northern Power
Women Awards to thoseoutstanding male allies who
deserve to be recognized fortheir commitment.
So let's make sure we get thosestories out there to inspire,
(01:46):
to make change and pave the wayfor a more inclusive future.
And today I'm delighted to bejoined by Andy Coyne, who is
going to talk about theimportance of this collaboration
and discuss the importance ofmale allies in the workplace.
We met a few weeks ago when wedid a brilliant live event
around male allyship at BarclaysRadbroke Hall, andy, welcome
welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Thanks, simone, and thank you for the invite.
Really great to be here withyou today.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
Tell us about your role at Barclays.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
So I've been with Barclays 13 years now.
I'm pretty long career, veryvaried, and as of today, I'm the
CIO for branch self service anddesktop technology.
So again, every day completelydifferent, with completely
different stakeholders andcompletely different challenges.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Wow, that's an extensive brief.
I think I need a desktopspecialist, especially every in
advance of every podcast.
So we talked about the NorthernPower Awards and us creating
this advocacy list.
It's a really exciting new sortof campaign for us.
What does it mean to you andthe team at Barclays?
Speaker 2 (02:50):
So look again, very similar to what you said.
The advocacy list for us issomething that we're super
thrilled to have co-created andsponsored through the
partnership that we've got withNorthern Power Women.
I think the first thing I'd sayis you know, we recognize at
Barclays that there's a problem.
Gender diversity in theworkplace is something that
(03:10):
we've been focused on for a longtime, but we've not really been
able to get a handle on exactlyhow we can measure and drive
behaviors differently.
So I think ultimately the listwill allow us to kind of
spotlight male allies, leadersand Influencers generally who
believe in and kind of activelydrive that campaign for equality
(03:32):
and wider inclusivity.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
And I think that's really key, isn't it is why will
we set this up?
What do we want to achieve withthis?
As I say, a few weeks ago, wewere over at the delightful
complex over at Radbook Hall,which is your massive HQ in the
north, and we did a session,didn't we?
A live session, which was, Ithought, what was really
interesting is the focus on sortof early careers as well, as
(03:59):
you know, sort of the leadershipteam that's.
That's quite important to you,isn't it?
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Yeah, 100%.
And I think you know there wasa couple of questions on the day
, if you remember about.
You know, can I reallyinfluence, even if I'm an early
stage in my career?
How do I get involved?
How do I make sure that I'mpart of the journey that's
happening?
And I think the one thing thatI definitely say is anybody can
you know, enter into theadvocacy list, whether you
(04:25):
identify as a male or not.
You know we have to champion adifferent behavior and for us,
coming from grassroots, all theway to the senior people that
have been in the bank for such along time, we have to
collectively make a differenceand ultimately pay it forward to
the next generation.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Yeah, I think that's really important.
I think one of the things onthe day I was on a panel with
Ilka Ilka Eman, your managingdirector, and who's been
instrumental in making sort ofthe advocacy list reality.
In fact, it started with aconversation with some of the
team at Barclays where we'relike, well, actually, the awards
this year was really exciting.
(05:04):
We were really great to be partof it, and it was literally
during that live conversationthat we were having on a team's
or Zoom call that we were likewhy don't we do something more?
Because why don't we dosomething more with that?
If you've got your own, youknow, sort of community of male
allies, why don't we use this asa platform to build that
(05:25):
community?
Why is this so important forBarclays?
And but equally, was it reallyimportant for leaders,
especially male leaders, tosupport this campaign?
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Yeah.
So I think for me it probablyresonates with everyone that all
leaders have a significantlevel of influence.
But what people might not knowis just how stark the imbalance
of power is.
When you look across, you knowall industries as a whole.
10% of CEOs on the FTSE 100 arefemale.
Less than 5% of CEOs in theFTSE 250 are female, which is
(06:02):
pretty dire in terms of thestats.
But when you look even deeper atthe data and the profit margins
for these companies, then ifcompanies with less than a third
of women on their exactcommittees performed as well as
those with over a third of women, then there's an extra £58
billion of pre-tax profit on thetable.
So you know, when you look atnumbers from a business
(06:23):
perspective, they're there, youknow, to be seen.
But for me it's much simpler.
It's about being fair,equitable and doing the right
thing, and for me, as a male,and Ilka and all the other
people, that can be fantasticrole models.
We set the example to speak up,support women and some of the
other gender minorities thatyou've talked about today.
(06:45):
So you know, given the stats onmales, the fact that we've got
such a big platform, that meansthat automatically we've got
greater visibility, the messagehas a natural reach to a much
wider audience.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
Absolutely, and I think it is the starting of that
community to be able to go so,because sometimes I think men
can be labeled as the, you know,as the enemy.
You know it's men versus womenand we've never been like that,
from the start of creatingNorthern Power Women, you know,
even before the awards came intopass, it was always really
important to me that we need togather and collect and corral
(07:21):
our male agents of change, youknow.
So it's something that we'vealways said.
It's all genders and reallyimportant that you know
everyone's at the table andthat's negative language, isn't
it to use sort of the enemy, ormen or them?
You know that conversation it'snot so much.
Why does it need to change?
If conversations need to change, but it's, how can we make that
(07:43):
conversation change, isn't it?
Speaker 2 (07:46):
100% and I think, look, you know, being honest and
sat here, having listened andseen to some of the behaviours
in various companies throughoutmy career, then I can kind of
appreciate the sentiment to someextent.
But to your point, if we're tobe successful in achieving any
level of equality across all ofthe different minority groups,
(08:08):
then the only way that we can dothat is by conquering it
together, and I think effectiveleadership has to aim to involve
all people, of all genders, butclearly men have a crucial role
to play in that.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
And I go back to sort of my early days, before we
talked, before I was in theRoyal Navy at the time and you
know we weren't talking aboutgender equality or, you know,
inequality it was.
But I remember, you know, I hadthat male advocate, that male
ally, that male sponsor Isuppose I would now call, who
(08:43):
sort of tapped me on theshoulder and said I think you
need to progress up the ranks.
Oh, my gosh, that's not for me.
And he didn't sort of sort oftake it as that and sort of go
and do something else or go andchampion someone else.
He sort of went no, no, no, Ineed to explain why.
I think that you would.
This will be a good opportunityfor you.
And he sort of painted thepicture and took time, took time
(09:05):
to sort of sit with me andexplain and then when we decided
to go on the journey, he waswith me.
And I think you know every maleadvocate journey can be
different and I know when we'vetalked about this previously,
sometimes I can see people sortof lean out, thinking, gosh, I
don't want to be patronizingtowards women, I don't want to,
(09:28):
you know, or I haven't gotenough power to do something
with, but it's the small thingsthat can matter.
Tell us about some of thethings that male advocates can
really do, because it can bejust those small ripple effects.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Yeah and look.
The first thing is making surethat you get involved and you
start to learn, you start tounderstand, and I've heard you
ask other people, simone, inprevious podcasts, if you always
had that passion.
Have you always been inspiredto go and make a difference?
And I can honestly sit here andsay no, I probably haven't,
which you know.
(10:01):
I admit, because only bygetting involved and over the
past couple of years have Istarted to develop my
understanding.
I've come through a world oftechnology, engineering and just
looking around the room atanother 50 white males.
There's just been kind of quitenormal, I suppose, in that
(10:22):
career path.
But until you actually start toget properly involved, educate
yourself, understanding wherethe problems are, it's only then
that you can start to make adifference.
And then, to your point, it isthe small things.
It's about challenging whereyou see bias.
It's about giving opportunitiesto people that haven't always
(10:43):
had those opportunities.
It's about taking a chance.
It's about being a little bitmore supportive, about, you know
, work-life balance, making surethat you know if we can provide
extra support for workingdifferent hours, for different
opportunities in different partsof different teams and
(11:06):
effectively mentoring andsponsoring people whenever you
get the opportunity.
I think that's the key for meputting yourself out there.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
Yeah, and let me say it's the small things.
It's sometimes just a case oflistening, just having an
appreciation, isn't it, andbeing curious about what that
other person's lived experiencesor what their challenges are,
or you know where there areopportunities that they can have
ahead.
It's just sometimes, I think,but the biggest thing that we
can ever give another human istime.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
Yeah, 100%, and I think by doing that that does
start to enable that platformfor learning, for developing.
You know, the best kind ofmoments that I've had through my
career is by listening toothers.
It's not by coming and talkingall the time, it's by taking
that information on board.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
And one of the things about this whole mail advocacy
list, which is, as I say, aspart of our Northern Power Women
Awards, is that it's not justwe always talk about the awards
not being about one night.
We talk about it.
You know, this is aboutbuilding a community, being able
to come together when we bringthis first list together to be
able to go well, actually, right, we're together.
(12:18):
Now what can we do collectivelyto sort of send that message
out there as to what otherpeople can do, because sometimes
it'll be like, well, I don'tknow what I can do, so how do
you?
That's what I hope.
I hope that this will createthat real sense of community and
equally, then give us the greatstories that we can take and
(12:38):
share out there.
How do you hope that this newmail advocacy list will inspire
others to act?
Speaker 2 (12:44):
Yeah, and I'm in a very similar space to you.
For me it's simple.
You know, we created the listto spotlight mail allies,
leaders, other influences whoreally believe in and actively
drive that gender equality andinclusivity.
I think for me personally, I'mnot a huge storyteller, but
(13:06):
these are stories that are builtaround hard facts that speak
for themselves.
It will allow kind of that,allow us to build the contagious
momentum to spread word andstart making change happen.
I think the one thing that youknow, we all know, life can
quickly come and quickly go, andit would be crazy if we miss an
(13:28):
opportunity to let it gowithout making a difference.
And that's what's always in mymind.
We have a real problem.
We can make a difference.
We can do that collectivelythrough these small things and
hopefully that will inspireothers to do the same.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
And I know when we got together at a rubroke, there
was this somebody who is not asenior was not part of the
senior leadership and so sayingwhat can I do?
Have I got something that I cando?
I think that's one of thethings here, isn't it?
It is not just for positions ofleadership, it's for everybody
to be able to be part of, and Ithink where we want this you
(14:05):
talk about sort of measurementof your life it'd be great to be
able to this is open toeverybody, isn't it?
It's not just for one set ofindividuals within an
organization.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Yes, bottom.
For me it is about gettingpeople from all the levels,
because again we're here talkingabout gender diversity, but
diversity in general whetherthat's people just starting on
their career, people finishingtheir career, ethnicity,
different backgrounds all comingtogether to make a difference.
And some of the best ideas andbest thoughts that we've had
(14:40):
inside Barclays is from ourjunior colleagues just joining
for the first time, because lifeto them versus life to me 20
years on in the industry is verydifferent.
So everybody can make adifference and everybody needs
to get involved.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
And that was interesting.
I think one of those colleaguesis saying well, why are we even
having this at all?
It's 2023, this shouldn't evenbe a thing, so that's a great
way.
Like you said, that's thatreverse mentorship, isn't it
when you learn off the talentcoming through?
Speaker 2 (15:10):
Completely and I definitely have some sympathy
with those thoughts and thoseideas.
But unfortunately, the datadoesn't lie and for us inside
Barclays, we're still 70% male.
In the technology space and inthe broader industry, we have
huge problems, especially in theSTEM based kind of environment
(15:34):
where people coming throughuniversity still less than 25%
are female.
So, spot on, we need to getwith the times.
It's 2023, but all of uscollectively have a word to do
to make it happen.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
And this is it, isn't it?
The new list will not changeeverything overnight, but it's
the start of building acommunity, the start of enabling
a conversation, it's the startof shining a light on the
brilliant male advocates outthere, and I'm so grateful for
Barclays jumping on and not justsort of saying, oh, we're going
to come and partner with you onthis, we're absolutely going to
be totally behind and ensurethis has got that impact and the
(16:11):
intention that we want this andthe individuals to be part of
it to have.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
Yep 100%.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
Thank you, Andy, so much.
Really looking forward to it.
We're really excited.
Please do get nominating in theNorthern Power Women Awards.
We are powernet.
That's where you can find allof the nomination information.
Awards nominations are openuntil the 4th of October.
So please get those fingers onthat keyboard and take that time
to recognise a role model.
(16:37):
Andy, thank you so much forjoining me today.
Massive thank you to theBarclays Massive as well for
enabling this to happen andenable us to have this really
open conversation aroundadvocacy.
Thank you for joining us.
Speaker 2 (16:50):
Thanks, simone, appreciate the time.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
And thanks all of you for listening.
Please do get out there andnominate and remember to please
join in our weekly conversationson the Northern Power Women
Podcast.
Subscribe, drop us an email oreven share on all our socials at
North Power Women on Twitter orX as it is now, and Northern
Power Women and all the othersocial medias.
Please do stay connected witheverything that we're doing.
(17:14):
My name is Simone.
This is the Northern PowerWomen Podcast.
At what Goes on MediaProductions.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Therapy Gecko
An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.