Julius Baer International has signed up to the Diversity Project, a cross-company initiative championing a more inclusive culture within the savings and investment profession.
As a member of the Diversity Project, Julius Baer International is committed to recruiting, nurturing and retaining the first truly diverse generation of investment professionals. The firm has also signed up to the Women in Finance Charter, which further highlights its desire to build a more balanced and fair working environment across financial services. In particular, the firm has committed to maintaining its female representation on the firm’s EXCO (44 per cent) and to target 45 per cent of female talent across senior management by 2022 (currently 41 per cent).
David Durlacher, CEO, Julius Baer International, says: “We are proud to be part of the Diversity Project and Women in Finance Charter and look forward to supporting change within our industry. We have a collective responsibility to improve inclusion for current and future clients regardless of their gender or background. To do this, we need to hold ourselves to account and continue to look for ways to improve our approach to D&I and develop new ideas to guarantee a diverse workforce and inclusive culture.”
In line with an increased commitment to industry partnerships, Julius Baer International continues to develop a number of initiatives aimed at clients, including the expansion of its educational Your Wealth Programme to offer a series of dedicated financial workshops for women. “Women in Wealth” aims to increase engagement with female investors and provide a safe space to exchange ideas and experiences to build financial confidence.
Julius Baer International is also committed to creating change from within, with a dedicated working group to support diversity and inclusion in the workplace led by Eleanor Malcolm, Chief Risk Officer, and Glenn Branney, Regional Head of Wealth Planning. Through its awareness and training programme, Julius Baer International aims to support, educate and ensure accountability across the workforce. Actions over the past year include encouraging greater flexible working to better support employees, introducing three months’ paternity leave for fathers, as well as increasing emergency childcare days and offering home-schooling activities support to working parents. Recognising the importance of supporting the mental health of employees and their families, the firm now offers mental health training for employees to create ‘mental health champions’ across the firm.
As well as this, Julius Baer International is proud to work with the Social Mobility Foundation, a charity which aims to make a practical improvement in social mobility for young people. The firm offers internships and work experience, providing mentors to help navigate an industry that is known to be full of jargon.
Eleanor Malcolm, Chief Risk Officer, Julius Baer International, says: “We have a long-standing commitment of treating every client as an individual, recognising their different needs and requirements. The diversity of our client base is such that we aim to ensure we have a diverse workforce that is reflective of this, ultimately helping our people feel a sense of belonging at work by putting in place structures to create an inclusive workplace and equal opportunities for all.”
