Bank of New York Mellon : Gender Diversity Uplifts the Entire Investment Industry

Written by: Frances Barney, CFA | Head of Asset Owner Product Management and Global Risk Solutions, BNY Mellon Asset Servicing

Last month, I had the opportunity to participate on a panel organized by CFA Society of Jacksonville on the topic of 'Gender Diversity in the Workplace,' a topic close to my heart, not only in my own career, but also as an investment industry professional committed to the future of the industry.

I am also proud to note that BNY Mellon sponsored the panel, consistent with our interest in Diversity & Inclusion.

I was joined on the panel by moderator Sara Leutzinger, Market President & Publisher, Jacksonville Business Journal and panelists Kelly Flanagan, CFO, Jacksonville Jaguars and Megha Parekh, Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, Jacksonville Jaguars. I was also happy to see men well represented in the audience and engaging in the topic by asking questions alongside their female colleagues.

Frances Barney (second from left) with Sarah Leutzinger, Kelly Flanagan and Megha Parekh

CFA Society of Jacksonville president Joseph Janocko, CFA, Florida Blue commented: 'The panel directly supported CFA Society Jacksonville in fulfilling its mission of promoting the highest standards of ethics, education and investment excellence in our community.'

We had a vivid discussion of gender diversity and the unique challenges women face in the workplace, particularly in leadership roles. Among many topics we covered, I was struck most by the importance of career mentors and advocates for women on their path to leadership positions. We were a cross-generational panel, but we all agreed on the impact of the people that had gone before us. All of us on the panel have worked with both men and women who helped break down boundaries and helped lift up women to their full professional potential. That continues to be an essential factor in achieving gender diversity, something I see every day within BNY Mellon in the work I do with WIN, an employee resource group that promotes women's career development.

The importance of this topic runs even deeper for me in the work I do with BNY Mellon clients. I lead the Global Risk Solutions group at BNY Mellon. We work with institutional investors to help them think about analyzing and improving the effectiveness of their investment programs. Many of the institutional investors we support are interested in understanding how their investments are affected by - or can influence change in - environmental, social, or corporate governance (ESG) factors.

I'm also the primary contact for BNY Mellon's strategic partnership with CFA Institute, announced last year. The partnership objectives include developing joint thought leadership on Diversity & Inclusion, as well as Social Investing, and supporting continuing professional education programs.

It's our responsibility to the future to use whatever tools we have to make positive change. As a leader at BNY Mellon, I look for ways to empower the next generation of leaders. For clients, for end investors, and for fellow professionals, the message is clear and consistent. Diversity is more than just fairness-it's about value, value created by looking at issues from different perspectives and taking differences into consideration to make better decisions, value delivered by leaders and teams within their own firms, value realized in investment outperformance. I'm excited to be a participant in events like this panel to help trigger these positive changes.

To learn more about BNY Mellon's thought leadership initiatives and Global Risk Solutions, please visit our website. Members of the media should contact Christopher Fox (christopher.fox@bnymellon.com) for more information.