Women in finance

We wouldn’t have it any other way

From day one, we’ve set out to disrupt the banking sector. Our goal was to shake things up and create something dramatically different from the norm. But it wasn’t just about giving our customers a bank that was truly unique, it was about treating our people differently too.

That’s why we’ve designed our employment policies and roles to appeal to all. Every position in our bank, no matter the department, is open to everyone. Gender doesn’t even come into it when we’re making a recruitment decision; it’s about what you can bring to the table.

So, when the government reviewed the representation of women in senior managerial roles in financial services in 2015, we’re happy to report that we were already streets ahead of the competition.

The review made four recommendations to the industry:

1. Firms should have one member of the senior executive team who is responsible and accountable for gender diversity and inclusion

2. Firms should set internal targets for gender diversity in senior management

3. Firms should publish progress annually against these targets in reports on their website

4. Firms should have an intention to ensure pay of the senior executive team is linked to delivery against these internal targets on gender diversity

The HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter is designed to get firms to commit to implement these recommendations, and we signed up straight away.

Having created a culture of inclusivity at Atom, we’re proud to say that we are targeting all the important conditions of this charter.

What we’ve done so far

• We have brought recruitment in-house to take greater control over hiring campaigns, and increasing our reach into our local communities
• We’re supporting regional initiatives that drive an increase in gender representation across industries such as engineering, technology and physical sciences
• By actively promoting flexible working and family-friendly benefits we’ve become known as an attractive family-friendly employer
• We endeavour to ensure we meet the needs of our diverse workforce beyond gender
• We encourage and support our people in their careers
• We’re working on initiatives to help grow and promote women to move up the organisation
• We’ve nurtured close links with other challenger banks to support each other and attract more women into the world of finance

Since signing the Charter, we’ve seen our female representation at Board level rise to 40% and overall female representation at a senior level is steadily rising year on year, currently at 33.33%, an increase from 32.56% last year.

Currently, female representation across the organisation sits at 41.71%, which has increased from 39.66% in 2022. Year on year, we are focused on increasing the percentage of women at Atom, even though we are experiencing limited growth and attrition. This has restricted our ability to achieve this target early, but we continue to support inclusive recruitment processes and champion female talent within the business.

We will continue to prioritise our Charter targets. This is evidenced by Atom having met two targets early and the increases in female representation organisationally.

We believe a more diverse and inclusive business leads to better outcomes and experiences for our customers. To support this, we have a targeted programme of work to address the gender imbalance in our sector. This focuses on not only the workplace but also in encouraging more females to study STEM related subjects. Last summer, we successfully completed our second internship programme, which directly supported students based in the North-East of England. This led to the piloting of our first graduate programme, starting in October.

We plan to launch further internship and graduate programmes, and we will stay connected with students throughout the duration of their studies. We know that the output of activities will take several years to materialise, however, we’re confident it will have a positive impact on our industry.

At the end of 2024, we launched our Atom Women’s Network, led by 6 female colleagues and is sponsored by our Chief Operations Officer. They’ve hosted a variety of successful events internally, including panels, fireside chats and development workshops, to support growth. The aims of the Network are to:

• Develop - provide female specific support with professional and personal development and access to relevant resources.
• Connect - give women the opportunity to build lasting relationships and connections across the bank and create a safe space and community to discuss issues that matter to them openly.
• Inspire - support our junior talent to grow and inspire the next generation to consider a career in the fintech industry.

We’re also furthering the development and implementation of our diversity and inclusion strategy and plan, including specific actions focused on attracting greater diversity into the organisation at all levels. This is inclusive of initiatives like our defined succession planning and career development pathways, talent management and coaching and leadership frameworks.