Clare Woodman
CEO of Morgan Stanley International and Head of EMEA
“We remain committed to increasing the representation of women in senior management roles, and know that continuously building and strengthening our talent pipeline is critical to achieving our goals.
In alignment with our core value ‘Commit to Diversity and Inclusion’, we continue to increase our representation at all levels through tailored recruiting and retention efforts, strengthening our talent pipeline with proactive career discussions and robust leadership development initiatives. Advancement of our talent is as a key priority for the firm, and we hold senior leadership accountable through annual diversity progress reviews with divisional and country heads, leveraging our target as a benchmark.”
Charter Targets Progress
When we signed up to the Charter in 2017, we aspired to 30% women in senior leadership, which we met two years earlier than expected. In 2022, we increased our target to achieve at least 35% female representation in senior management by 2025. We define senior management as the UK-based officers in the Operating Committee and two direct/co-direct reporting layers below them.
2023 Progress Highlights
- Female membership on our main Morgan Stanley International Board stands at 39%.
- Female representation on our EMEA Operating Committee stands at 44%.
- Female representation across our overall workforce increased from 35% (2018) to 40% (2023).
- 40% of UK Officer promotions in 2023 were women.
- Reduced our UK Gender Pay Gap median for the Morgan Stanley UK Group from 34.3 % (2018) to 27.6% (2022).
- Our percentage of women in UK Summer Analyst programmes was 54% in 2023, up from 53% in 2022 and 2021.
- New partnership with Code First Girls sponsors UK students in Nanodegree courses, with all 3 women participants offered places for the 2023 Technology Analyst Programme in London and Glasgow.
- We welcomed our second cohort of Future Generation Scholars with 20 scholars in London and 5 in Glasgow - 52% women, and our second year of partnership with the industry wide 10k Black Interns Initiative - 56% women.
- Continued to invest in our leadership pipeline by curating a best-in-class talent development curriculum for high-performing women that focuses on career progression, manager involvement and executive coaching.
- Embedded mandatory Inclusive Leadership Curriculum for all managers in EMEA to create a more inclusive workplace by ensuring inclusive people processes including hiring, performance management and day-to-day operations.
- Launching a family support benefit across all EMEA locations, in partnership with the Firmwide Head of Family Advocacy for EMEA to support new and expecting parents.
- Recognised amongst The Times UK Top 50 Employers for Gender Equality 2023, in association with Business in the Community.
- The Inclusive Ventures Lab continues its commitment to a more equitable investment landscape for underrepresented founders. The 2023 cohort represents the largest and most geographically diverse cohort to date, comprising of over 20 companies globally.
- Sponsor of critical research supporting women’s career progression including the four-year ‘Accelerating Change Together’ programme (ACT), instituted by Women in Banking and Finance (WIBF), Coqual’s ‘Challenging Norms: A Global Analysis of Gender at Work’ and the London School of Economics’ (LSE) Inclusion Initiative.
EMEA Diversity and Inclusion Governance and Strategy
Our EMEA Diversity Action Council provides thought leadership and acts as a catalyst to drive forward the overall EMEA diversity and inclusion strategy in partnership with Human Resources, Diversity and Inclusion and the Talent teams. The Council meets monthly and is chaired by Juliet Estridge, Managing Director, EMEA Head of Research.
Additionally, each Managing Director member is held accountable by their Division/Region Head for impactful divisional diversity practices and for delivering on their annual diversity and inclusion plan.
Regular meetings are held with Division/Region Heads, their Chief Operating Officers and Diversity Action Council members to review divisional progress on metrics, the diverse talent pipeline and specific diversity initiatives. Accountability is underscored by monthly strategic dialogue with the EMEA Operating Committee.