Our success

Ensuring diversity and inclusion is always going to be a priority due to the constantly evolving nature of the societies we work within. Therefore we are on a journey, but here are some of our successes to date.

GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network Award (25 May 2011)

On Monday May 23, Jerry del Missier accepted a 'Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion' award on behalf of the firm from GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network. The award recognized the work of Spectrum, the firm's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employee network.

"It is our responsibility as adults, parents, teachers, business leaders – and simply members of the community – to do all that we can to make sure that each student in every school is valued and respected, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. By partnering with GLSEN, we are demonstrating our commitment to this cause,” Jerry said.

GLSEN is a non-profit organization which seeks to develop school climates where difference is valued for the positive contribution it makes in creating a more vibrant and diverse community.

Over the past year, Spectrum's work has led the firm to achieve several milestones, including becoming the first financial services company in the USA to introduce a tax reimbursement for same-sex domestic partner benefits. Spectrum also hosted first-ever events for the New York financial services community with Christine Quinn, the Speaker of New York City Council, and with David Boies, one of the lawyers fighting Proposition 8 in California.

Accepting the award in front of more than one thousand colleagues, peers and clients, Jerry also pointed to Spectrum's success in becoming the #1 fundraising team in AIDS Walk NY this month. "That sense of leadership by our employees is one of the reasons that Barclays Capital is such a great place to work, and it's one of the reasons why our clients choose to do business with us."

Earlier this month in Asia, Spectrum launched a mentoring program for lesbian, gay, bi-sexual or transgender (LGBT) staff in the region. And in the UK, Spectrum was voted employee network of the year in 2010 and was ranked as a top 10 employer for LGBT individuals.

Barclays recognised for supporting women in the workplace, and as a top employer (14 Apr 2011)

Barclays has won the Opportunity Now ‘Advancing Women in the Workplace’ award, and been named one of The Times newspaper’s ‘Top 50 Employers for Women’.

The innovative and insightful work of women’s networks across the group secured the Opportunity Now award. The judges praised the networks’ success in connecting women to senior leaders within Barclays, raising leadership gender intelligence, building female colleague engagement, and embedding gender into the business strategy. Opportunity Now is a leading campaign organisation that recognises excellent practice in organisations working to create equal, diverse and inclusive workplaces, with a particular focus on gender. The award was accepted earlier this week on behalf of Barclays by a team from Barclays Wealth.

Barclays was also listed this week, for the fifth consecutive year, as one of The Times ‘Top 50 Employers for Women’.

This year’s list has been compiled in conjunction with Opportunity Now, and is a trusted and reliable reference guide for women looking for the right employer, resulting in fierce competition between businesses to secure a place on the list.

Guglielmo Sartori di Borgoricco, Head of Global Distribution and Chair of the Global Diversity Council, said: "It is critically important that we attract talented people to the firm to create a more inclusive environment. We are honoured to be recognised with these accolades and will continue to make progress through the Global Diversity Council, each business's Diversity Plan and through our employee networks.

"We are clearly moving in the right direction to ensure that more women are represented in senior roles across the firm."

Barclays Capital scores 100% in the Human Rights Campaign's 2011 Corporate Equality Index

This achievement marks the first time that Barclays Capital has received a perfect score. The Corporate Equality Index evaluates corporate policies affecting LGBT employees throughout the US. The index has had a profound impact on many workplaces and has spurred significant change among companies that initially had been slow to adopt more equitable policies. As the largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans, the Human Rights Campaign rated 844 US companies and law firms in the 2011 survey.

Stonewall Workplace Equality Index

Barclays Capital has once again been ranked as a top-10 UK employer for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Stonewall's annual Workplace Equality Index. The index is designed to measure equality in the workplace and measures efforts that tackle discrimination and create inclusive workplaces.

Barbara Byrne named one of the "25 Most Powerful Women in Finance” (28 Oct 2010)

US Banker magazine has recognized Barbara Byrne as one of the “25 Most Powerful Women in Finance” in their October 2010 issue. The annual survey highlights some of the most influential senior female executives in the financial services industry.

Barbara is a Vice Chairman at Barclays Capital. Based in New York, she is responsible for leading the firm’s relationships with a diverse group of corporate clients, including GE, IBM, Altria, EMC, HP, US Steel, Microsoft, and Williams.

Over the course of her career, Barbara has led teams on diverse financing and strategic advisory transactions ranging from representing Digital Equipment in its 1998 merger with Compaq, to advising the Williams Companies on its 2002-2005 liquidity restructuring. In 2007, she led the teams advising Altria on the US$62bn spin-off of Kraft, the US$1.1bn initial public offering of VMWare’s carve out from EMC, and GE on the US$11.6bn sale of its plastics business to SABIC. In 2008, Barbara led the teams advising Altria on the US$113bn spin-off of Phillip Morris International, as well as the US$8bn strategic partnership between Mubadala and GE. Most recently in 2010, she was responsible for the team advising Microsoft on its US$4.75bn multi-tranche senior notes offering, and GE on its US$3bn acquisition of Dresser Holdings.

Barclays Capital Inc. Named to Conceive Magazine's Annual List of 50 Best Companies for Fertility and Adoption Benefits

Released in the Summer 2010 issue of Conceive, and available on http://www.conceiveonline.com/, the list highlights U.S. companies offering their employees the best benefits for starting or adding to their families.

RateMyPlacement Diversity award 2010

Went to Barclays Capital. This is an award to promote inclusion and diversity in work experience for all students within a company. This award was open for nominations and entries from any organisation that felt they promoted diversity within work experience.

Targetjobs National Graduate Recruitment Award (UK)

On March 18, 2010, Barclays Capital won The Diversity Award at the Targetjobs National Graduate Recruitment Awards. The award celebrates how well a company has met their stated objectives in developing excellent diversity recruitment practices, campaigns or initiatives.