Our Commitment to Equal Opportunity and Diversity

Unlike some others, we don’t just talk about diversity and equal opportunity, we DO something about it. Both internally and externally we are committed to being a force for positive change in the industry. Our ‘Young Women into Finance’ program is a perfect example of this.

YWIF aside, diversity and inclusion is our guiding star. We lead by example with a truly diverse team of our own, and our efforts to support our clients in achieving the same level of diversity have been described as “evangelical” on more than one occasion. You can read more about our commitment and a few of our successes below.

Our commitment

We believe in a level playing field where everyone has the same opportunity, and achieves success based on their own talent and hard work rather than some artificially induced or bought advantage. This belief drives us every day, and we are not afraid to call out discrimination wherever and whenever we see it.

This commitment has seen us invest our time and money heavily in various programs, conferences and initiatives which seek to promote diversity and inclusion in our sector. We have been a lead sponsor of the ‘Women in Private Equity’ conference since its inception, and we also support the Women’s Infrastructure Network by sponsoring events aimed at encouraging women to be more assertive about career progression.

Our success in placing women in 2021

2021 was a breakthrough year for us, with women representing 40% of the people we placed into new roles during the year.

Whilst we are proud of the progress we are making, our vision for 2022 is very clear:

No going back. We must maintain 40% and push for better
Focus on seniority. It is not only the number of women that matters, it is their seniority within the team
Women on Boards. A key focus, as women can effect real change withing an organization when placed at board level

Please follow us on LinkedIn for regular updates on our performance where these critical metrics are concerned.

“Changing jobs during COVID was not easy. One Search were instrumental in keeping the interview process on track, feeding back to me as a candidate so that I felt comfortable with the job fit and culture during a period of mandatory Zoom interviews, and ultimately making sure both sides were happy when it came time to sign the contract. Their approach was just the right amount of involvement at just the right times.”

Jennifer Smith
CFO
Wildstone

Young Women into Finance

It had been obvious to us for many years that the only way real gender diversity in our sector was going to be achieved and sustained was if more young women wanted to come into it.

After years of talking heads getting us nowhere in this regard (female entry level hovered between 12-18% for ten years in the decade 2008-2018), in 2018 we decided to do something about it.

You can read all about our scholarship program, and the impact it has already had on the lives of many young women here.