Learn what it was like for Elizabeth to come back from maternity leave as a Vice President

I joined Risk at Barclays as a contractor and I thought they were amazing. They gave me flexibility as a first time mum, and treated me with respect as a contractor. It made me want to join permanently, and in 2017 I did, at Vice President level.

Here in Risk Information Services, we help the bank understand risk and its capacity to absorb more risk, and we help regulators to know how well we are managing our risk. I’m passionate about my job, and I love how we get to see the impact of our work, end to end. For example, during the pandemic we could see the volatility in the market and the impact on businesses. The information we provided was used by regulators to see the impact of the pandemic on the global economy.

I’m passionate about Barclays, too, and during the pandemic my respect and love for Barclays has grown. I’ve seen how our leaders were able to manage colleagues, take care of their mental wellbeing and deal with the increased demand for data that would inform strategic decisions.

For example, I was heavily pregnant and the nurseries and schools were closed, so I had two other young children with me and I was working full time. It all got a bit much, but the Risk senior leadership said we should speak up if we needed help. I talked to my Manager and was told to do whatever I needed to do to protect my baby and my family. And once I knew I had that support, my stress was alleviated. At Barclays, we really do care about our people, and that’s amazing.

We want the brightest and best talent to join us here, no matter what their background might be. We’ve done so much, and if we can get even more talented people, we can do so much more.

Barclays has a genuinely supportive culture. What you want and need is respected, and when I returned from maternity leave I was able to talk about how I wanted to work. I’m empowered to make my own decisions and find the balance between doing great work and looking after my family. Barclays gives me a voice and supports me, and that comes from the very top.

That cultural strength extends to Barclays’ approach to Diversity and Inclusion. I was so proud when former CEO, Jes Staley released his statement supporting black colleagues, and I feel respected for who I am, and glad to be given the opportunity to work on Race issues at Barclays. We are doing a lot to really drive diversity initiatives, including setting targets for recruiting more people from underrepresented backgrounds. We don’t just talk the talk, we get things done.