Women in Finance Charter: A pledge for gender balance across financial servicesThis is a commitment by HM Treasury and signatory firms to work together to build a more balanced and fair industry. Firms that sign up to this Charter are pledging to be the best businesses in the sector.The Charter reflects the government’s aspiration to see gender balance at all levels across financial services firms. A balanced workforce is good for business – it is good for customers, for profitability and workplace culture, and is increasingly attractive for investors.The Charter:- commits firms to supporting the progression of women into senior roles in the financial services sector by focusing on the executive pipeline and the mid-tier level;- recognises the diversity of the sector and that firms will have different starting points – each firm should therefore set its own targets and implement the right strategy for their organisation;- requires firms to publicly report on progress to deliver against these internal targets to support the transparency and accountability needed to drive change.My organisation pledges to promote gender diversity by:- havingonememberofourseniorexecutiveteamwhoisresponsibleandaccountableforgender diversity and inclusion;- setting internal targets for gender diversity in our senior management;- publishing progress annually against these targets in reports on our website;- having an intention to ensure the pay of the senior executive team is linked to delivery against these internal targets on gender diversity.

Skipton Building Society (SBS) is the UK’s fourth largest building society, with over 1m customers, £20bn of assets and a national presence represented by its network of 87 branches, supported by 2,400 colleagues. Skipton offers mortgages, savings and financial advice. SBS heads the Skipton Building Society Group (c17,000 people), whose subsidiary companies include Skipton International Limited and the UK largest estate agency, the Connells Group. The Society’s Vision is “to Build a Better Society”, founded on the values of Trust, Ownership and One Team. The strategy is to differentiate on service and to provide long term value to our members through the products it offers.