Meet Jill Johnston, Chief People & Sustainability Officer at The Cumberland
Marked by millions of people on March 8, International Women's Day (IWD) celebrates the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender equality.
At The Cumberland, we’re proud of our progress towards becoming a more inclusive workspace and a place where our people truly belong. You’ll regularly hear us talk about ‘Kinder Banking’, about the importance of our people, real people, that are the fabric of everything we do and stand for. This applies to our colleagues, as well as our customers.
Jill Johnston, Chief People & Sustainability Officer at The Cumberland, reflects on her role for International Women’s Day.
What is your role at The Cumberland?
The full array of what you'd expect someone leading people to be responsible for. I'm also responsible for sustainability and what we do in terms of social and planet impact. I sit on the senior leadership team, so I report to the CEO.
What does IWD mean to you?
For me, International Women’s Day gives us a moment to reflect on where we are, and where we are going next. When I first started working in financial services, I was surprised by where the industry was. But for example, for International Women’s Day in 2023, we announced that we were set to have 50% of our senior roles filled by women, two years ahead of our own target of April 2025.
It meant a rise of over 30% in the number of senior positions occupied by women in just five years - which is all the more notable given the sector is traditionally male-dominated. And in May, Jackie Arnold became the first woman to be chairperson in our 175-year history.
How are Cumberland celebrating International Women’s Day this year?
We’re having a day for colleagues that encourages learning, networking, and celebrating women in technology. There’ll be a variety of talks and workshops featuring stories and achievements of our women in technology, including two of our female board members.
What has Cumberland been able to do to support women in their careers and “Accelerate Action”?
Last year we launched our Belonging strategy which ensures all our colleagues feel valued, visible and heard. It aims to ensure everyone at the Cumberland feels they have an opportunity to develop, but for the right reasons too. I accept that just because I'm a working woman with a career doesn't mean to say that everybody has to be. It is all about giving people the choice.
We've also been looking at carer responsibilities because I feel passionately about the whole life cycle. What challenges do people face when they are new to a career, then what challenges do people face as they progress, and into later life where they might have more female-related health challenges and other responsibilities? We’ve made great strides in improving our maternity and paternity benefits together with providing support for women going through the menopause.
Some of our senior leaders have also gone through a female leadership programme focusing on the strengths and wisdom that female leaders bring.
What keeps you focused at work?
I'm quite driven in that I know what good should look like in an organisation. It doesn’t have to be complicated, sometimes it just needs someone to be focused on it and feel like they can do the right thing. What keeps me focused is aligning myself to our strategy and what’s important for our colleagues. And I want to make a difference.