What links a fishbowl, London Zoo and a gay Asian comedian? They’re all part of the diversity programme at Citi, where 36 employee networks worldwide address disability, ethnicity, gender, parental responsibility and sexual orientation.

The finance sector is usually seen as macho and conservative, but 53 per cent of Citi’s employees are women. “We’d like to have more diversity in senior positions,” says Carolanne Minashi, head of diversity for markets and banking in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. “Our Coaching for Success programme targets high-potential women in middle management.”

Citi provides working mums with support that achieves a 98 per cent maternity return rate. Fathers can attend weekly events providing advice for parents, and there is an annual family outing – this summer to London Zoo.

Minashi argues that developing and retaining diverse talent is only part of the jig-saw. “We’re looking at attracting more diverse talent through initiatives such as inviting female graduates to a dinner hosted by one of our female managing directors, and targeting disabled graduates to apply for our summer internship programme.”

Joelle Parrant is an intern who’s joining Citi. She says: “I have systemic lupus, and Citi was very helpful about special adjustments. It’s good to target people with disabilities who often assume they couldn’t work for a big corporation.”

Citi isn’t afraid to be challenging. This year’s Diversity Week kicked off with a comedy night held by Paul Sinha, a gay Asian comedian. “The audience, who were mainly straight and white, weren’t expecting to hear an Asian doctor talk about his experience as a gay man,” says Daryl King, co-chairman of Citi’s LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) employees’ group.

“It created a real buzz; 121 feedback forms rated it excellent. Comedy is an effective way to talk about these issues.”

And where do fishbowls come into it? They are sessions with a panel of people from ethnic minorities who talk to an audience about their experiences. Leonor Altamira, who is Spanish, has attended. “I have a perspective on their difficulties because I’m also from a different culture. Panellists blamed experiences on their colour, for example not understanding jokes in the pub. But I too find that, because I haven’t always lived here.”

With such a broad and active diversity programme, how does Citi measure whether it’s making a difference? “Each strand of diversity links with a relevant charity, such as Stonewall and the Employers’ Forum on Disabilities, to benchmark best practice,” Minashi says. “We also track maternity return rates.”

Clearly it’s working for women at Citi: 17 per cent of the director population and 10 per cent of managing directors are female. Anna Moss, Citi’s general counsel in Belfast, says: “I’m good at my job, and that’s what counts more than my gender or race.”

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