Inquiry finds women in leading finance companies receive around 80 per cent less in bonuses – EHRC

Stories like this represent real disappointments to those of us who work with the belief that career success should come from ability and talent rather than gender, appearance or background. At least there are still public inquiries to remind us how much work remains to be done. And, fortunately these tend to encourage targeted schemes to counter this discrimination. Here are a selection of upcoming events/schemes I have found that might just be right for you:

• Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO) London is an organisation that provides hundreds of students from ethnic minority backgrounds with training, mentoring, and internships in the City – and the scheme is now open for applications for 2010. There are sector-specific strands for Investment Banking, Programming and IT, and Corporate Law. They also run a scheme for first-year students.
• ThisAbility is a one-day event on 18th November 2009 for talented students interested in investment banking, and who meet these criteria:
  • Are you a first or penultimate year undergraduate?
  • Do you have a real interest in the investment banking industry?
  • Do you consider yourself to be disabled or have a long-term health condition?

  Apply now as places are limited.

• QS women in leadership and diversity in leadership careers fair – next event 25th September 2009 but check the QS forums website for more. Meet recruiters who are committed to diversity and inclusion.
• Women in Technology always has a long list of upcoming events (low cost or free) for women pursuing careers in IT. They are a recruitment service, but their website includes useful advice articles that are worth a look in their own right.

If you have attended any of these events, let us know what you thought of it! And if you hear of any more, please share them in comments.

You may have been aware of our own diversity scheme called Reach - this is just about to be re-launched. No longer a mentoring programme, instead we will have an interactive website featuring newfeeds, blogs, forums, events, inspiring case studies, and advice from employers. We hope this means we will be able to help a much greater number of students. Keep your eyes on the Reach page for updates – you can expect the site to be available in October!

You might also like to become a fan of our page on Facebook Careers in the City, for year-round jobs, links, tips and feedback from careers advisers. It does not have a diversity focus, but the advisers running the page would always be interested to explore that issue.