Diversity and inclusion is in our roots.

We were founded to combat inequality in financial services – women were routinely refused mortgages in the 60s and early 70s purely on the basis of gender, and we just didn’t think that was right. So our founders started a new building society and wrote it in to our policy that we would lend equally to teachers with small deposits regardless of gender. Diversity and inclusion for customers from day one.

We believe that a sustainable and successful business depends upon a diverse and inclusive workforce where employees are encouraged to think differently and empowered to achieve their best. What we look for first and foremost is diversity of thought, regardless of gender, race, religion, age, background or sexual orientation. We have a zero tolerance policy for any form of discrimination and select our employees based on their ability to deliver the best results for our members.

We had female representation on our board of directors in the 1970s and today we strive to make our Society a place where all employees feel valued. Whilst we are confident that our pay and reward structures are fair and pay men and women in similar roles equally, we recognise that we could do better when it comes to equal representation of men and women within the Society across senior and junior roles. We have policies in place to ensure that we take positive action to address this.

To ensure our employees are as diverse as the members they serve, we are committed to: