PURPOSE AND PROFIT

Helena Morrissey, head of personal investing at Legal & General; Carolanne Minashi, global head of diversity & inclusion at UBS; Sally Dennis, director of customer operations at Mercedes-Benz Financial Services UK; and Margaret Casely-Hayford, chair of Shakespeare’s Globe, on

building equality into the heart of a business helena morrissey: ‘This is not about adopting the male trappings of power. I didn’t try to command control, I wasn’t militant and I didn’t threaten. To slip into the gender-war mentality when there are so many men who want equality too would be a great wasted opportunity.’ carolanne minashi: ‘Research has categorically proven the business benefits of having diverse people in your company. But even if a business doesn’t buy that, there’s the current

call for transparency: if you don’t take notice, there’s the risk of disenfranchising your investors, disenfranchising your clients, or getting into trouble with regulators.’ sally dennis: ‘It’s interesting to note that a lot of men actually prefer the boardroom environment at Mercedes-Benz now that the senior team is 50 per cent female. My CEO’s answer, when I asked what had changed? “The collaboration and empathy in the room. The egos are left at the door.”’ margaret casely-hayford: ‘Try to remember not to change yourself. Take yourself into that boardroom. You’re there for you, with all your glorious femininity, or your special characteristics – this is what’s making you valuable to the board.’