Witad Awards 2022: Gender equality/diversity professional of the year (end user)—Sholthana Begum, Bank of England

There is relentless demand for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (Stem) skills across financial services firms globally—and within central banks it’s no different. According to research from the World Economic Forum, Stem will comprise most of the top 10 job skills required in the workplace by 2025. But it can be tricky to find the right candidates, which has been further complicated by the Covid-19 pandemic, which upended the norms of recruiting talent from universities and holding in-person interviews. 

To meet these challenges, Sholthana Begum, head of innovation, data and regtech at the Bank of England (BoE) launched an Innovation Competition. The initiative is aimed at women and underrepresented groups, and provides students with the opportunity to secure a paid Stem internship at the bank, without the need for any formal education or work experience. 

Begum says she wanted to convey to students with an interest in Stem subjects that the central bank is an open, diverse, and innovative place to work. “I am an advocate of implementing diversity and inclusion initiatives that add real value, through meaningful action,” Begum says. “I wanted to give students across the UK the opportunity to work at the Bank of England, regardless of their academic background or work experience.” 

The purpose of the initiative, Begum says, is to remove barriers that discourage potential candidates from applying for Stem roles. Her aim was to create a new pipeline of incoming talent to the bank by targeting students from all backgrounds at the early stages of their education. 

“The way that data science is progressing, you can learn these skills via a variety of methods, including self-practice. There are many ways of learning that don’t have a barrier of entry, aside from a PC or smartphone,” Begum says. 

Those who applied were required to submit a five-minute video or PowerPoint, where they answered the question: How does fintech impact the mission of the Bank of England? More than 100 applicants entered. While the number of successful candidates was not made public, the ratio of female to male winners was 70:30.

The internships, which last six to eight weeks and take place over the summer months, will be carried out virtually or in the London offices, to make it easier for wider pool of talent to participate.