From PwC’s chair to the boss of Vodafone: Here are the top 30 men helping to tackle gender inequality in the workplace
Lloyds Banking Group’s chief executive of commercial banking and the chairman of PwC have been named among the top 30 men challenging the status quo and promoting gender equality in the workplace.
The Women’s Business Council and Management Today have revealed their 2017 Agents of Change, listing 30 male leaders who are actively working alongside women to change working cultures.
Read more: International Women's Day: 12 of the most awesome women in the City
Andrew Bester, Lloyds Banking Group’s group director and chief executive of commercial banking, was selected after his firm became the first FTSE 100 company to make a public commitment on gender equality.
Lloyds Banking vowed that 40 per cent of its top jobs would be held by women by 2020. And since Bester took on the role of executive sponsor for inclusion and diversity in 2014, the number of female external hires into senior management roles has risen five per cent. The bank has banned all-male shortlists for its top jobs.
Chris Norwood, a head teacher at Northfleet School for Girls, also made the cut. He developed bespoke teaching models to raise girls’ aspirations into STEM and enterprise. Norwood also launched a pilot study for Your Daughter’s Future – a Women’s Business Council and Government Equalities Office toolkit designed to help girls and their parents consider different career options.
He said all students "deserve the best opportunity to become exceptional leaders and this journey starts in school".
The 30 "Agents of Change"
|
Aki Stamatis |
Chairman, Fourfront Group |
2. |
Andrew Bester |
Group director & chief executive commercial banking, Lloyds Banking |
3. |
Andrew Lawson |
UK&I managing director and SVP North Europe, Middle East and Africa Salesforce |
4. |
Andrew Hill |
Management editor, Financial Times |
5. |
Ben Black & Oliver Black Joint nomination |
Founders, My Family Care |
6. |
Chris Norwood |
Head teacher at Northfleet School for Girls |
7. |
Chris Stylianou |
Chief operating officer, UK & ROI, Sky |
8. |
Chris Brook-Carter |
Managing director, Retail Week |
9. |
Chris Murphy |
Group managing director (Europe, the Middle East and South Asia), ThoughtWorks |
10. |
David Sproul |
Senior partner & chief executive of Deloitte in the UK, member of the Deloitte Global Executive |
11. |
Edwin Alford |
VP business application services, BP |
12. |
General Sir Gordon Messenger KCB DSO* OBE ADC |
Vice chief of the defence staff (VCDS), Ministry of Defence |
13. |
Kevin Ellis |
Chairman and senior partner, PwC |
14. |
Marc Allera |
Chief executive, EE |
15. |
Mervyn Davies |
Lord & ex minister, chair of Corsair, SID Diageo |
16. |
Mike Haigh |
Group managing director and business representative of advance employee network, Mott MacDonald |
17. |
Mike Putnam |
President & chief executive, Skanska UK |
18. |
Neil Williamson |
Chief executive, Jardine Motors Group |
19. |
Nick Baughan |
Chief executive, Maxus UK |
20. |
Paul Kissack |
Director general, Civil Service |
21. |
Philip Thomas |
Chief executive, Cannes Lions |
22. |
Richard Robinson |
Managing partner, Oystercatchers |
23. |
Robert Hannigan |
Director, GCHQ, the government communication headquarters |
24. |
Roger Whiteside |
Chief executive, Greggs |
25. |
Russ Shaw |
Founder, Tech London Advocates |
26. |
Sir Roger Carr |
Chairman, BAE Systems |
27. |
Steve Hatch |
Regional director Northern Europe, Facebook |
28. |
Steve Varley |
Chairman and managing partner UK&I, EY (Ernst & Young) |
29. |
Tom Knox |
Chief executive and president, Mullen Lowe and IPA |
30. |
Vittorio Colao |
Chief executive, Vodafone Group |
Over 150 men were nominated, from a range of sectors including education, media and financial services.
Cilla Snowball, chair of the Women’s Business Council, said:
This list champions the male leaders who are making a difference for women in many fields of work.
We applaud all of this year’s nominees; every single entry showed gender equality in action and provided a brilliant bank of case studies on how to challenge the status quo.
Women's minister Caroline Dinenage said the list served as "a fantastic way to celebrate the good practice already happening in workplaces across the country".