Gender

KPMG's Network of Women (KNOW) was created to provide support to colleagues across the firm, helping to celebrate and promote gender balance and provide opportunities for colleagues to share experiences and gain guidance on professional development.

As the network has evolved and grown, the impact they’re able to have has too. Sarah Dal Pozzo, co-chair of the network explains “KNOW plays a really important part in driving progress within the business. We work closely with our Inclusion, Diversity and Equity team and our leadership to help shape how we address gender related barriers”.

“Most recently, we helped push for a formal Menopause Policy and better support to be provided for those affected by menopause, which came into place in 2023. We’ve already had over 160 colleagues use our dedicated menopause support service, alongside some really successful initiatives including a menopause café series and the launch of dedicated Menopause Ambassadors, including our first male ambassador” adds Sarah.

A key part of the network’s strategy is to educate and engage, whether that be leadership, allies, or colleagues more broadly across the business. Sarah explains “We recognise the huge role intersectionality plays in people’s individual experiences, so more and more we’re working with the other employee networks across KPMG to tackle issues and have conversations that are tailored to different minority characteristics. For instance, partnering with our African and Caribbean network during Black History Month for an event specifically designed for Black heritage women.”

With targets in place to reach gender parity by 2030 and a dedicated Gender Equity Plan, KPMG are ensuring gender equity remains high on the agenda. “It’s great that we have ambitious targets and that the business recognises that there is still more we need to do” says Sarah. “As a network, we’re always listening and learning to ensure we’re focussing our effort in the right areas. For instance, hormone related support in the workplace is becoming more prominent and is something we’re exploring. We’re also keen to get more allies on board – for us this about gender equity, not just women”.

IT’s Her Future is KPMG’s award-winning flagship women in technology programme. Originally founded back in 2015 as an action group, it aims to tackle gender diversity in technology departments and improve the gender parity in senior leadership roles.

“Women make up 53% of the UK workforce but only 24% of the technology workforce. This is exactly why programmes like IT’s Her Future are so important, not only for organisations like KPMG, but our clients and wider society too”, says Laura Verlander, Development Lead for IT’s Her Future.

We support our women at every stage of their career by providing technical and soft-skills based learning, mentoring, networking and community led opportunities, instilling confidence to allow them to be architects of change in technology. We also work with schools, universities, external organisations and clients to address the lack of inclusion and diversity in technology from school through to industry.

Achievements to date and what’s next?

IT’s Her Future has enabled significant changes in the attraction, recruitment, and engagement of women in technology, achieving a 50:50 gender split at graduate level. We’re now focusing on retention and progression of our female technology talent to increase the representation of women in senior leadership positions at KPMG.

• 1^st At the Women in IT and Women in Finance DEI Initiative of the year 2021 for IT’s Her Future.
• 1^st At the Education and Training Initiative of the Year 2021 for our IT’s Her Future Juniors Programme at the Women in IT awards.
• 40% Proportion of women in all Technology department at KPMG 2023.

Inspiring and Mentoring Future Generations

Our Junior’s programme focuses on expanding tech opportunities for new generations of women. Over 200 girls in over 30 schools and colleges across the UK have benefited from this important outreach activity, gaining insights into the varied world of technology and the extensive range of careers available.

Recruiting Female Talent

Since inception of the programme we have removed STEM degree requirements and implemented the use of gender inclusive language in job descriptions, which has resulted in a steady increase in the number of female job offers accepted - from 36% to 74% and an increase in the number of females in tech roles at KPMG - from 26% to 40%.

Supporting and Progressing Female Talent

Our internal mentoring programme has over 600 mentees and mentors participating, and its benefits are regularly cited in the promotions process, with 40% of promotions being awarded to women in tech in 2023.

At KPMG, our aim is to create an open and inclusive environment where our people truly feel the menopause is not an issue that needs to be hidden and can talk about it openly without hesitancy or fear of embarrassment.

“We want our colleagues to feel confident in asking for support and any accommodations so they can continue to be successful in their role, and it’s important that our line managers and colleagues understand what the menopause is and can confidently have positive conversations to support colleagues experiencing menopause” says Charlotte Carter, Director of Culture, Engagement and Wellbeing.

In 2022, KPMG launched a new Menopause policy, which sets out the support available for colleagues before, during and after the menopause. As part of this policy, all colleagues have access to the Bupa Menopause Plan, which provides staff with a 45-minute consultation with a menopause trained GP, personalised care plan and subsequent follow up appointment in addition to 24/7 access to a menopause trained nurse. We've already had over 160 colleagues use our dedicated menopause support service, and we have also established a Menopause Ambassador network (including our first male ambassador) and host monthly Menopause Cafes to provide an opportunity for peer support.

Charlotte adds, “We recognise the menopause as a workplace issue and are taking a number of steps to address it and provide the necessary support for our colleagues. As part of World Menopause Day, we held a series of Menopause speaker events to highlight the importance of talking about menopause in the workplace, early menopause, shared experiences, the associated challenges and lifestyle changes we can make to have a more positive menopause experience.”

Our internal Wellbeing page on Women’s health sets out information about the menopause, early menopause, common myths explained and how we can help and we have also set up Line Manager Menopause training to further support our colleagues. This includes a conversation guide to support with conversations both in and outside the workplace, and CIPD guidance for line managers to support Performance Managers, Engagement Managers or line managers in their conversations and response.

Launched in 2018, RaiseYou is an award winning, outcomes-focused Diversity & Inclusion programme supporting KPMG UK’s Financial Services Consulting practice. It is a 12-month programme that provides career development support to a selected group of colleagues with diverse characteristics, with the aim of creating to create an inclusive and diverse environment with inspiring leaders and an empowered pipeline of high potential diverse talent.

RaiseYou focuses on a series of practical interventions, delivered in conjunction with UNIDA, a specialist diversity and inclusion consulting firm. This includes bespoke 1:1 and group mentoring, a calendar of developmental-focused events and an extensive programme of work to address specific career blockers identified by women and ethnic minority colleagues.

Noeleen Cowley, founder of the RaiseYou programme and Partner in KPMG Financial Services says, “When I launched the programme there was a lack of awareness around the barriers some women were facing in the sector. We wanted to help them overcome these, so they had an equal opportunity to progress and succeed in their senior leadership roles.”

Since its launch, RaiseYou has supported close to 300 colleagues to achieve their career ambitions, with 100% of shortlisted director candidates in the 2023 Senior Cohort going on to achieve a promotion that year, resulting in a 100% record for the last 3 years. When asked at the start of the programme in 2023, only 21% of participants had a formal career sponsor in place, but this had increased to 86% by the end.

RaiseYou has been recognised by the Financial Services industry, winning the Women in Banking and Finance award for Best Diversity and Inclusion Innovation in November 2022. KPMG has also recognised it as being a key driver in helping the firm increase female representation and create a more inclusive culture, with Bina Mehta, KPMG UK chair commenting that RaiseYou has been “instrumental in shifting the dial on gender equality at KPMG.”

Now in its sixth year, the programme continues to shape the career journeys of talented female colleagues and colleagues from ethnic minority backgrounds. The ambition is to build on this success and expand the programme across both the UK firm and global KPMG network, as well as increasing both alumni and client engagement to build a community driving diversity and inclusion across the firm and wider financial services industry.

Harriet Oram, Programme Lead and Partner in KPMG Financial Services, adds “RaiseYou continues to be an ambitious and impactful programme for our talented female colleagues and colleagues from ethnic minority backgrounds in FS Consulting. In partnership with UNIDA, leading the RaiseYou programme this year has been a great privilege, particularly having experienced the positive impact of going through it myself, and I am immensely proud of what we have achieved. When I personally reflect on where we were when this programme first started and where we are now, it is clear to see the impact the RaiseYou programme has had – diverse leadership, role models, work life balance, inclusivity and a continued commitment to support our pipeline of diverse talent.”

As individuals, our identities, backgrounds and circumstances are multi-faceted. To lusion, we must therefore tackle it in a way that recognises these differences.

“At KPMG, intersectionality is embedded at the heart of our inclusion, diversity and equity strategy – this essentially means that we actively look to reflect the different experiences of all women in our approach, which can include everything from differences in age, background, circumstances and beliefs” says Megan Murray-Smith, Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Manager leading on Gender Equity.

Investing time in listening to colleagues and using data and insight can help inform what today’s workforce of women need from organisations.

“Our approach as a firm is constantly evolving. We respond to what our colleagues and data tells us, but sometimes, it’s also influenced by changes in attitude in wider society, key events or topics just becoming more openly discussed in the public space” adds Megan.

Some great examples of how we’re putting intersectional insight into practice include our focus on supporting colleagues experiencing menopause; updated policies, systems and training that are more inclusive for trans women; and a renewed attention on women’s safety, including an update to our Domestic Violence policy and training for managers.

“Reaching gender equity is not going to be a linear path, but we’ll continue to take the time to listen to our colleagues' lived experiences, to help us get it right” says Megan.