The way the wealth and investment industries work is “anti-diversity”, according to Quilter head of inclusion, diversity and wellbeing Tosin James-Odukoya, who in an interview with ESG Clarity said education, leadership buy-in and accountability will continue to be needed to reshape practices that are not conducive to inclusive workplaces.
With more than 10 years’ talent acquisition experience, James-Odukoya joined Quilter in June 2021 and has been working on the firm’s diversity and inclusion action plan, which will launch next month. With the firm’s pre-tax profits up by 28% to £138m last year, CEO Paul Feeney has said it’s looking to bring in more people, so an action plan for doing this inclusively is vital.
“The biggest issue in our industry is the fact our practices are anti-diversity,” James-Odukoya says. “It’s about who you know or helping someone’s son, it’s all done via leads.”
Read the full interview and watch the full video in ESG Clarity’s March 2022 digital magazine.
