Women in Finance

Saffron Building Society is a signatory to the Women in Finance Charter, a pledge for gender balance across financial services. The Charter was established in 2016, following a government review in 2015 which found that women made up only 14% of executive committees in the financial services sector. 

There are now over 400 firms, covering over one million employees, voluntarily signed up to the commitments of the Charter – from global banks to credit unions, the largest insurance companies to the smallest fintech start-ups – with headquarters in the UK, USA, Europe and Asia.

Full list of signatories please click here

The Charter

•    Commits firms to supporting the progression of women into senior roles in the financial services sector by focusing on the executive pipeline and the mid-tier level;
•    Recognises the diversity of the sector and that firms will have different starting points – each firm should therefore set its own targets and implement the right strategy for their organisation;
•    Requires firms to publicly report on progress to deliver against these internal targets to support the transparency and accountability needed to drive change. 

The Charter asks financial services firms to commit to four industry actions to foster gender balance in senior managerial roles:

1. Having one member of the senior executive team who is responsible and accountable for gender diversity and inclusion; this is our CEO, Colin Field
2. Setting internal targets for gender diversity in senior management;  our current target is 35% of women in senior management*
3. Publishing progress annually against these targets in reports on their website;  available on our website
4. Having an intention to ensure the pay of the senior executive team is linked to delivery against these internal targets on gender diversity; to be discussed as part of the Corporate Scorecard measures

To demonstrate our strong commitment to the Charter our CEO, Colin Field, acts as our senior executive responsible for gender diversity and accountable for meeting out WIF commitments.  Our gender diversity target for September 2027 is:

*35% women in senior management (senior management being defined as Board members, Executives, and those defined under the SMCR (Senior Managers and Certification Regime) as being Senior Management Function holders, Material Risk Takers and those defined as having Significant Management responsibilities)

We have been successful in delivering our target for 2026 and want to maintain this target whilst going through a transformational stage in which we are reviewing our career levels and opportunities for progression.

 

Key gender diversity statistics as at 31^st July 2026 are:

**Definition of senior management is Board, Executives, and those defined under the SMCR regime as being Senior Management Function holders, Material Risk Takers and those defined internally as having Significant Management responsibilities. 

Actions that the Society has undertaken in 2026 to support gender equality and inclusion:

• Inclusive recruitment practices including the publication of our hybrid working policy.  We believe this both directly and indirectly supports our female colleagues maintain and progress their careers

• Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy includes our approach to an already well established and holistic wellbeing programme which supports our colleagues through a wide range of health and financial wellbeing topics and family-friendly policies. 

• We have particularly focused on female health topics including Menopause, with regular drop-in sessions and access to Menopause workplace champions. In 2026 we received the Menopause Friendly Accreditation, (established by Henpicked: Menopause In The Workplace in 2021) to certify high standards and proven practices that embrace menopause in the workplace.  In order to achieve the Menopause Friendly Accreditation, Saffron Building Society was assessed by an Independent Panel and had to demonstrate evidence of its effectiveness in five key areas, namely: culture, policies and practices, training, engagement and working environment.  A ‘best in class’ marker, the Menopause Friendly Accreditation differentiates employers who have demonstrated the positive impact of their actions in supporting people experiencing menopause. 

• We continue to provide enhanced maternity and paternity leave and pay entitlements for all colleagues including support in shared parental leave.

• Our EDI working group, made up of volunteer colleagues from across the Society, meets regularly and organises events throughout the year covering all areas of diversity and inclusion and open to all colleagues. We mark International Women’s Day each year, with testimonials from senior women and men from the Society on how women can progress their careers with us.

• In June we launched a Careers Fair focused on progression and opportunities for those wishing to progress, the event included a fireside chat with four members of our Executive team, two male and two female, who shared their experiences of how their own careers have progressed and answered questions for the audience.

• We are signed up and committed to the Real Living Wage scheme.

Saffron Building Society operates equal opportunity employment policies.  We do not discriminate on the grounds of a person's gender identity, marital status, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin or disability in the employment of staff, or in our consideration of candidates for employment at any level.

We work to ensure there is also equality of opportunity regardless of hours worked.  Conditions of service, including pay and staff benefits, transfer and promotion opportunities apply on a fair and equal basis to every colleague.