HFMA 2018: Finance must embrace diversity, conference told

In a panel discussion on diversity, three chief finance officers spoke about their experiences, as well as Going beyond, the NHS Improvement programme they are developing.

The programme aims to help and support greater diversity in senior finance posts across all NHS organisations in England. Initially, it will focus on gender and ethnicity, setting targets for greater balance.

Women and those from a black and minority ethnic groups make up significant proportions of the NHS finance workforce, but they are not well represented in senior finance jobs (see Financial equals, Healthcare Finance, December 2018).

Going beyond will introduce a number of measures to help NHS organisations achieve a balance in senior posts that better reflects their staff and the populations they serve. The panel – NHS Improvement chief finance officer Elizabeth O’Mahony (pictured second left), Sandra Easton from Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (right) and Hardev Virdee from Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust (centre) – told panel chair Rene Carayol (far left) sponsorship would be particularly important.

‘We have the workforce, with real diversity, but we are not pushing or pulling them up. Sponsorship will be part of pulling them up, but we also want individuals to come forward,’ Ms Easton told the conference.

Individual staff could get involved in the NHS Future-Focused Finance diversity programme and local women and LGBT networks, she added.

Ms O’Mahony said NHS Improvement could help create greater diversity. ‘At NHSI, quite a lot of opportunities come our way to place individuals into posts or we are asked by chief executives to find a finance director,’ she said.

‘We are also looking at the talent pipeline – these are tough jobs and we did not see that pipeline coming through. What we did see all looked very similar – that's not necessarily a bad thing as there can be lots of strengths and diversity in those that look the same. But we have to acknowledge that in the lower grades there is so much talent that’s not coming through.’

The views of finance staff in bands 8b and 8c – where there appears to be a glass ceiling for women and ethnic minority staff – should also be sought, she said.

Mr Virdee added: ‘There’s also something about taking that risk – one of my best appointments was someone with no NHS experience. As I talk to finance staff I encourage people to think about this – they are in a privileged position to be a role model. We will be supporting board development, sponsorship and giving people the confidence that becoming a board member is possible.’