Written by Citi.
The Sync NI team speak to Citi about their commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion within the company.
Recently recognised in the Financial Times third annual Diversity Leaders Ranking, Citi employs over 3,100 people across its four locations in Belfast, which together support 21 different capabilities including legal, HR, compliance, audit, markets and tech. Citi’s commitment to diversity and inclusion is focused on enabling an equitable and inclusive culture where individuals can reach their fullest potential.
Globally, Citi’s employees reflect the remarkable range of cultures and perspectives of their clients across the more than 160 countries and jurisdictions where they do business – a powerful advantage that combines global insights with deep local knowledge. The company actively seek out diverse perspectives at all levels of the organisation.
Demonstrating Citi’s commitment to embracing diversity, Erika Irish Brown has recently joined the leadership team as the new Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer and Global Head of Talent. “Investing in our talent and culture is one of our top five priorities at Citi because we appreciate that Citi's competitive advantage is our people,” Erika says.
In addition to helping achieve Citi’s representation goals, Erika will drive Citi's agenda on talent planning, succession planning and leadership development while strengthening our diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) work across Citi with new ideas and approaches to challenge and help grow the organization.
The team at Citi Belfast closely follow Citi’s global attitude towards diversity and inclusivity and take pride in their DEI policies. Presently there are five affinity networks in Belfast which Citi staff actively participate in including Women – which recently celebrated its 10 year anniversary - Pride, Families Matter, DisAbility and Multi-cultural.
Reflecting the strength of Citi Belfast’s efforts for LGBTQ+ inclusion, Peter Holden, Global Head of End User Services, has been the business sponsor of the Citi Belfast Pride Network for many years and has spearheaded numerous initiatives to foster LGBTQ+ inclusion. His role in driving diversity and inclusion in the business has recently been recognised through his place on Involve – The Inclusion People’s LGBT+ Role Models list for 2021 in the category of Top 50 Ally Executives. Prepared by diversity and inclusion membership organisation Involve, the list highlights role models for others to follow when it comes to being out and proud at work, driving positive change in the office, or supporting LGBTQ+ colleagues.
Commenting on the recognition, Peter commented “Thanks to the Pride Network in Belfast for putting me forward for this list, it is humbling to be recognised for something which put simply is the right thing to do. Hopefully, it inspires others to do more and helps in some way to move the broader Belfast community forward.”
Citi Belfast is also committed to changing attitudes towards women in technology. With a 44% female staff presence on site and 48% of senior roles held by women. The company actively work with schools, colleges, and universities locally to promote the inclusion of women in STEM subjects and encourage the next generation of female leadership within STEM disciplines.
Recognising that commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is a long-term objective that requires buy-in from the full team, Citi Belfast holds itself to the highest standard, setting the tone from the top.
Leigh Meyer, Site Head of Citi Belfast commented, “We are all responsible for promoting inclusion and work to continually enhance our capabilities. Our most senior leaders view themselves and others as accountable for enabling an equitable and inclusive culture where we can all reach our fullest potential, and while senior accountability is critical to this effort, it won’t work without the involvement and support of our broader employee base. Our leaders, allies and affinity network colleagues work in tandem with Citi’s Employee Network Program and our employees globally where we have 175+ chapters with over 23,000 members to embrace diverse teams, ideas and possibilities to help us drive growth and progress.”
For info on career opportunities available at Citi Belfast check out: https://jobs.citi.com/belfast
This article first appeared in the Winter 2021/22 edition of the Sync NI magazine. You can download your FREE copy and sign up to receive future digital editions here.
