CSR & ESG
Published  11 MIN READ

Getting Real about Diversity & Inclusion in Treasury

A recent roundtable discussion hosted by TMI saw five industry experts debate the best way to move the needle on diversity and inclusion in treasury. The freewheeling conversation looked at everything from new tactics for ensuring suppliers – including banks – meet D&I criteria, to helping transgender employees feel comfortable bringing their true selves to work and ensuring colleagues with disabilities enjoy full access to the workplace.

It’s easy to sit in an ivory tower and pontificate about diversity and inclusion (D&I) in treasury. Enacting it is an altogether different scenario, especially when treasury talent pools are not always overflowing with ideal candidates, let alone diverse ones. 

Nevertheless, as the treasurer’s role as a strategic partner to the business grows, and treasury departments transition from cost centres to profit centres, D&I is becoming a more pressing priority for treasury leaders. But how can treasurers do more to advance D&I? Where does more attention need to be focused? And what are the business benefits of making D&I the new standard? These questions and more were answered during TMI’s inaugural D&I Roundtable Debate, featuring:

  • Luc Vlaminck, Group Treasurer & Managing Director, Rémy Cointreau
  • Joanna Bonnett, Group Treasurer, PageGroup
  • Adam Richford, Head of Treasury and Investor Relations, Renewi
  • Brook Ballard, Treasury Manager, Cheniere Energy

Eleanor Hill, Editor, TMI: Why do you think treasurers should pay attention to D&I? What are the potential business benefits? 

An HSBC representative: Research consistently shows that diversity in the workplace is an asset for businesses and their employees. Having a diverse workforce can increase the capacity for innovation and creativity – whereas homogeneous environments rarely promote out-of-the box thinking. For treasurers, having a diverse team that can approach challenges with fresh eyes is only going to be a benefit. And in the age of robotic treasury, creative minds will be even more highly sought after. From a banking perspective, D&I is critical because we want to mirror our client base, which is becoming more and more diverse.