Swindon-based Nationwide Building Society’s record on gender and race equality has earned it a top 10 placing in a major national report for the third year in a row.
The Nationwide, Britain’s biggest building society, was also rated Platinum for its gender diversity work and Gold for race diversity in the lists of private sector organisations published by Opportunity Now and Race for Opportunity – the gender and race campaigns from Business in the Community (BITC). 
The lists, which are not in a ranked order, are published as part of the UK’s most comprehensive gender and race benchmark. Some 114 public and private sector organisations submitted workforce data on gender and race, and were assessed on a range of key areas, including career progression, recruitment, supplier diversity, and senior management and board representation of women and ethnic minorities.
Nationwide chief operating officer and executive sponsor for gender diversity, Tony Prestedge, said: “Receiving Platinum status for the second year running is excellent news and shows we are continuing to make sure women and men are given equal opportunities to thrive at work.
“Being recognised for this hard work makes us even more determined to progress female talent further through training, mentoring and support and increase the number of women at senior levels.”
Nationwide group distribution director and executive sponsor for race equality, Graeme Hughes, said: “People are our focus at Nationwide – the diverse make-up of our 15m customers and our 17,000 employees make us the inclusive organisation we are. Maintaining our Gold status means we are in a strong position in this area while moving forward and continuing to develop a workforce which is reflective of the communities in which we are based.
“Employing the right people, regardless of their background, means we are a diverse and thriving organisation and we are delighted to have been recognised for the third year running by Race for Opportunity.”
Opportunity Now director at Business in the Community Kathryn Nawrockyi said Nationwide was one of the organisations leading the way on creating more diverse and inclusive workplaces.
“Inclusion in the Top 10 is a mark of an organisation’s commitment to creating and delivering a fair experience of work for all their employees – male and female, of all ages and from all backgrounds,” she said.
“This achievement should encourage other employers to move the progression of diverse talent from a diversity and inclusion initiative to a core business priority and work collaboratively to ensure that opportunities for career success are available to everyone equally.”
