This is becoming more and more pertinent across the UK workforce as a whole, where a growing number of women are returning to work after having children. It is estimated that around 70% of mothers are currently in paid employment - three times as many as 60 years ago. This is a trend which employers should welcome - we certainly do, as it provides us with a great opportunity to recruit from a wider talent pool.
Being an employer which provides support for individual employees through flexible working brings about clear business benefits. We look to reflect our customers in our own make up so that we can better understand their needs, and we also pride ourselves on innovation. Innovation comes more easily when you have a variety of influences, and for this we need to have a diverse workforce. This diversity isn't restricted simply to visible differences, but includes factors which are not so obvious, such as bringing together employees with a mix of working patterns or family backgrounds.
Santander has a number of policies which support balancing work and home commitments, which include maternity, paternity and adoption policies. The procedures we have in place at Santander are intended to complement each other to give new mothers the best possible employer support before, during and after their maternity leave. They cover areas such as ante-natal and post-natal classes, with employees entitled to time off for relaxation or parentcraft classes when prescribed by their doctor or midwife, flexible working options, childcare vouchers and a buddy scheme which helps women keep in touch with their team while they are off on maternity leave.
We are just about to trial a new mentoring programme in which mentors are matched with employees during periods of maternity, adoption or additional paternity. Mentors are drawn from those who have experienced the process themselves and will be able to provide practical and confidential advice. This development has been as a result of listening to feedback from our employees who told us that the line manager and buddy systems worked well, but that being able to talk to someone who had been through their own period of maternity leave would be a useful addition. We will be monitoring the trial and aim to roll it out across the company later this year.
Our Maternity, Adoption & Paternity Policy is part of our wider Diversity & Inclusion strategy, a three-year plan designed to reflect Santander Group's commitment to gender diversity. It's important that our senior figures lead by example in relation to influencing our culture and organisation, and having women in leadership positions is strategically very important for the company. We are proud to be led by a female CEO, but equally proud about our diverse Executive Committee, where four key strategic roles, including the Head of Retail Distribution and Intermediaries are also held by women. Our senior executives have a focus on diversity which extends beyond their own role, both within the company and with external organisations, reinforcing the importance we place in this area.
At the heart of our focus on diversity are our talent and reward programmes, reinforced by our determination to attract, recruit and retain the best people in the sector. Our experience has shown us that having a workforce which closely reflects our customer base brings us benefits, both as individuals, and as an organisation.
Paula Dunne is head of diversity and engagement at Santander UK
