TORONTO, Jan. 16, 2019 /CNW/ - BMO Financial Group
today announced that it has been included in the Bloomberg
Gender-Equality Index (GEI) for the fourth year in a row.
The Index recognizes companies committed to gender equality and
inclusivity within the workplace and the community. Since 2017 the
index has doubled in size and currently includes 230 companies from
10 sectors across 36 countries.
"An inclusive culture and a workforce that reflects our diverse
communities and customers are top priorities at BMO. We continue to
be deeply committed to bold actions that foster a sense of
belonging for all, including women leaders," said Cam Fowler,
President of North American Personal & Business Banking, BMO
Financial Group, and BMO's Executive Diversity
Champion. "Through workplace initiatives that have led to 40
per cent of senior BMO leaders being women, educational tools
that help women to take control of their finances, and our
commitment to provide $3 billion in
capital to women-lead businesses, BMO is a leader in supporting and
empowering women."
Current initiatives include:
- Products Supporting Women – BMO offers an extensive
suite of products and services to support women. For instance, in
2018, it announced $3 billion in
capital would be available over three years for Canadian businesses
owned by women, which will also create new jobs and strengthen
communities. Additionally, BMO offers educational tools such as its
website, www.bmoforwomen.com, and a podcast series, Her
Money, Her Way, to help inform women on a wide array of
relevant topics.
- Diversity and Inclusion Strategy – Vision 2020 is a
multi-year strategy to drive the bank's performance and industry
leadership by fostering greater diversity and inclusion across the
organization.
- Career Development – BMO believes in growing leaders
from within. More than 60 per cent of its senior leaders have
completed the Leadership EDGE program since its launch in
April 2016.
- Women in a Supported Environment (W.I.S.E) – BMO's
largest Enterprise Resource Group, W.I.S.E., with over 3000
members, is a community of employees – both men and women – who
champion the inclusion, connection, development, advancement, and
support of women for the betterment of BMO's business, communities
and culture.
- Women in Senior Leadership and Board Representation – 40
percent of senior leadership roles are held by women, while 35.7
per cent of independent directors on BMO's Board of Directors are
women.
- Developing Future Leaders – BMO helps develop leaders
for today and for the future. The bank was an executive sponsor of
Plan International's "Girls Belong Here" initiative on the
International Day of the Girl, during which young women shadowed
several BMO executives. The initiative showcased the different
career opportunities within the organization for future women
leaders.
About BMO Financial Group
Serving customers for 200 years and counting, BMO is a highly
diversified financial services provider - the 8th largest bank, by
assets, in North America. With
total assets of $774 billion as of
October 31, 2018, and a team of
diverse and highly engaged employees, BMO provides a broad range of
personal and commercial banking, wealth management and investment
banking products and services to more than 12 million customers and
conducts business through three operating groups: Personal and
Commercial Banking, BMO Wealth Management and BMO Capital
Markets.
SOURCE BMO Financial Group