On International Women's Day, Permpreet Soomal reveals how you can champion female leadership across the board
Being talked over, spoken down to, having her ideas explained back to her and being asked to do non-promotable work — these are just some of the toxic scenarios Permpreet Soomal was subjected to in her long career as a woman in finance.
Now, working as chief people officer at Capital One Canada, Soomal says she’s proud to work for an organization that’s instigating real change for female empowerment.
“As a female business leader myself, it’s incredibly important to me that I work for an organization that puts people at the center of all that they do,” she says. “I take great pride in saying that diversity, inclusion and belonging are the cornerstones of our culture at Capital One Canada – especially for women.
“Whether it’s through training and development, core benefit offerings, or our ‘empowher’ Business Resource Group (BRG), the wellbeing and success of women and of all associates continues to be a priority. I’m also proud to say that, as a result of our commitment on this front, women represent 54% of our director plus leadership team.”
Breaking the “boys club”
But achieving these high levels of diversity was no mean feat. In the finance world, there’s a stereotypical image of the “boys club” – one that makes is tough for women to climb the corporate ladder and smash the glass ceiling. However, it’s clear that in Canada at least, this is changing. According to data from the Canadian Bankers Association, women occupy 38.5% of senior management positions in Canada’s six leading banks – with the boards of directors boasting an impressive 43% as of 2022.
Speaking to Soomal, she’s honest in her belief that the industry hasn’t “truly achieved becoming a diverse field just yet” – adding that the financial space “historically has not been a predominantly female industry.” However, at Capital One Canada, she tells HRD that her focus is on making a people-first organization, making real change by breaking down those traditional gender norms and barriers.
“For example, Capital One encourages all associates to take advantage of our parental leave policy – and I am thrilled to confirm that we have seen an increase to 43% of all parental leaves being taken by our male colleagues over the past two years,” she says. “This change has incredible downstream impacts when it comes to a culture with less bias and equal opportunities for all.
“This is one of the many ways we are challenging the old notion of a ‘boys club’ through the promotion and prioritization of diversity, inclusion and belonging through our leaders, culture and benefits – all of which align to support employees in bringing their whole selves to work and encouraging and supporting them in being their true selves.”
Benefits to boost the bottom line
A key part of this inclusive strategy is benefits – specially tailored and personalized perks that offer employees tangible, real-time help. Something that came to the fore recently when one of Soomal’s people approached her about a childcare conundrum.
“Recently, a female associate returning from parental leave expressed her concern about being able to spend time with her family and specifically, her young child,” she tells HRD. “She raised these concerns with her manager and asked to shift her working hours to accommodate.
“Without hesitation, her manager not only agreed but championed her willingness to prioritize asking for what she needed to do her best work. This is one example of many, but it’s a powerful story for how Capital One Canada is meeting our associates where they are at – and that means not only providing comprehensive benefits but also trusting individuals to make decisions, manage their own work/life schedules and ask for support when they need it.”
And these benefits are rather impressive – especially where working parents are concerned. Capital One Canada offers 26-week parental leave benefit for all new parents, with a 100 per cent top-up for six weeks, followed by 75% for 20 weeks. The finance giant also gives employees the option of;
- Support for pregnancy/child loss through bereavement leave
- $5k towards adoption-related expenses
- $15k (lifetime maximum) towards fertility drugs
- $3k per year towards psychology benefits for employees and their dependents
- Up to 100% coverage for health and dental benefits
Capital One also gives workers up to 15 personal days in addition to their annual leave, monthly “Invest in Yourself Day” to spend on development or self-care, Perkopolis discount program, elder care support and stock-matching options.
“While our list of overall benefits offerings continues to grow, we’ve seen the greatest success and feedback from our female associates when we find and meet that sweet spot of enabling performance through flexibility,” adds Soomal.
How are you celebrating International Women’s Day? Tell us in the comments.