Available at: https://www.creditsuisse.com/corporate/en/media/news/articles/media-releases/2012/07/en/42035.html 2  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/speeches  2  The Bank of England values diversity for three reasons. First, it is the right thing to do; a public institution should reflect the people it serves. Second, diversity can build the trust required to deliver our remits, as people are more likely to trust people they recognise, reducing misperceptions that we are experts making esoteric decisions in ivory towers for the benefit of others.5 Third, diversity leads to better decision-making, more creative thinking and reduces the risks of groupthink and bias.6 This last point is critical. Almost all decisions in finance are taken under uncertainty, making it especially important that decision makers are exposed to a range of views, and engage in open debates with people whose perspectives challenge the prevailing wisdom. Articulating why diversity and inclusion are important has helped the Bank move the dial. When I joined the Bank, only 17% of senior managers were women, so we set an ambitious target to reach 35% by 2020. The Bank is on track to achieve this: today, 32% of senior management are female, considerably above the 14% industry average. Our pipeline of future leaders also looks healthy: 46% of colleagues below senior management are women. This didn’t just happen. Reaching this point has required a deliberate, concentrated effort throughout the organisation. The power of organisations like the WIBF is that they help such approaches permeate through the industry.
Finance by all, for all Speech given by Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England Remarks at Women in Banking and Finance 22nd Annual Awards, London Friday 14 June 2019  I am grateful to Jennifer Nemeth for her assistance in preparing these remarks, and to Jenny Pye, Katie Williamson and Paul Wright for their help with background research and analysis. 1  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/speeches  It is an honour to join you today to celebrate this special occasion. The Women In Banking and Finance (WIBF) network is a place to connect with colleagues, share knowledge and like today, celebrate success. In that spirit we have already connected at the reception and will conclude by celebrating your success, so let me take up a bit of the middle to share some knowledge that the Bank has gained as it seeks to improve diversity and inclusion at the heart of finance. Let me start by reflecting on the state of the UK financial services industry. Over two million people across the UK work in the sector. It makes up over 10% of the economy and runs a trade surplus of £ billion, greater than all other exporting industries combined. Financial services contribute enough taxes to fund the NHS.1 Most fundamentally, finance serves households and businesses at home and abroad. Last year, the UK financial system channelled £ billion in finance to UK businesses and helped 700,000 households to purchase homes.