Swindon-based Nationwide Building Society has been named in The Times Top 50 Employers for Women list 2014 in recognition of its track record in developing female talent.
The list, published annually by The Times, celebrates those employers doing the most for gender equality and diversity.
Organisations making the Top 50 list are selected independently by Opportunity Now – the gender diversity campaign from Business in the Community – under criteria designed to test their consistent commitment to recruitment, retention and progression of women across their workforce. 
The list was announced last week at the Opportunity Now Excellence in Practice Awards, which were sponsored by Nationwide and formed part of Business in the Community’s Responsible Business Week.
Nationwide is focussed on attracting and promoting female talent across the organisation and this approach to development has seen high levels of women participating in talent programmes.
Seven in 10 of its employees and two thirds of its managers are women.
In the most senior positions, a quarter of directors are female. The Society has a history of enabling flexible and agile working that supports staff at different stages of their lives.
HR director Keith Astill said: “We’re always looking to better ourselves in the way we operate a diverse and inclusive culture at Nationwide and we’re seeing the results of this approach right across the board. Put simply, diversity improves business performance and our approach is to help our people be the best they can be at their job – whoever they are.
“We’re extremely proud of being recognised as one of the UK’s best companies for gender diversity and we are committed to creating a female-friendly work environment, something which is directly endorsed by board level sponsorship.”
