Lloyds Scholars launches 16 LBS scholarships for women
Today, marks the launch of the Lloyds Scholars MBA Scholarships for Women programme, delivered through London Business School.
With women currently making up just 19% of FTSE 100 board directors compared to a Government target of 25% by 2015 , Lloyds Banking Group continues to take steps to help more talented women to gain executive experience through career progression and enhanced management education.
Research shows that there is an under-representation of women pursuing post-graduate management education and that a core barrier to participation is the financial resource barrier. To help to address this, Lloyds Banking Group is providing four scholarships of £30,000 each, for four years starting from the 2014/16 cohort.
As part of its vision to help Britain prosper, Lloyds Banking Group is keen to encourage more women to study for an MBA and increase the potential for more women to become future business leaders. The Lloyds Scholars MBA Scholarship for Women is available to female candidates who have been resident in the UK for three years or more who have successfully applied for a place on the London Business School full-time MBA programme.
Graham Lindsay, Director, Responsible Business, Lloyds Banking Group said “Lloyds Banking Group is firmly committed to being a great place for women to bank and work and we have a robust programme in place to ensure that we are best placed to achieve this. As part of our ambition to help Britain prosper we are proud to extend our focus on women in leadership through the Lloyds Scholars MBA Scholarships for Women, in partnership with London Business School.”
Lloyds Banking Group has a number of programmes in place to ensure that the bank is best placed to achieve diversity and inclusion, including:
• Women on the Board – currently 3 of the Group’s 11 Board members are women and Lloyds Banking Group welcomes and supports the Lord Davies Review recommending a target of 25% female representation on the board by 2015
• Visible executive leadership – the Group’s commitment to gender diversity is led from the top. Lloyds Banking Group’s Chairman, Sir Win Bischoff is a founding member of the 30% Club – an initiative that encourages UK companies to aim higher than the Davies Review target.
• Developing the Female Talent pipeline – Lloyds Banking Group has a Senior Women Leaders Programme; a Role Model programme and mandatory diverse shortlists for senior appointments. In addition, we run a ‘Sponsoring Leadership’ programme for diverse talent, where participants are sponsored in their career by senior executives. The Group also has a high profile women’s network called Breakthrough to provide support and networking opportunities for women across the Group
• Lloyds Banking Group has sponsored the First Women Awards for 8 years and has been awarded a place in The Times Top 50 Employers for Women in 2012 and 2013
In addition to the Lloyds Scholars MBA Scholarship for Women, one Lloyds Banking Group colleague will also have the opportunity to study for a part-time London Business School Executive MBA per year.
Wendy Alexander, London Business School’s Associate Dean, Degree Programmes and Career Services, said: “Women’s leadership is – at last – coming of age and we believe that they are particularly strong on the team approach, thriving on collaboration and prizing diversity at work. We have made real progress in attracting more women to London Business School but we know there is still much to do.
“These significant scholarships from Lloyds Banking Group will incentivise an important group – women living in the UK – to take on an MBA in order to further develop themselves as business leaders of the future.
“We are excited about the contribution that Lloyds Scholars will make, not only to business but also to the international network of London Business School students and alumni that they will join.”
To find out more about the Lloyds Scholars MBA Scholarships for Women visit www.london.edu/mba. Applications for the London Business School MBA can be made before the end of May 2014.
