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Diversity and inclusion

Diversity and inclusion is an important element of our people strategy. We believe the diversity of our directors, managers and employees should reflect the diversity in the world around us.

We want everyone to feel welcome at Paragon and share their talents, helping us to broaden our perspective, understand our customers better and build a stronger business.

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Equal opportunities

Equal opportunities

We believe all employees should be able to work in an environment free from discrimination, harassment and bullying, and that employees along with job applicants, customers, retailers, business introducers and suppliers should be treated fairly. We invest in management training to ensure managers are equipped to support fair working practices and educate all employees to ensure the policy is fully embedded.

See our policy
Women in finance

Women in Finance and diversity targets

We have ambitious targets to build a more diverse organisation. These targets were first published internally in January 2017, as part of our commitment to HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Initiative, although they extend beyond gender diversity. We aim to achieve our targets by 2022.

Find out more

Leadership focus

Organisations that are more diverse and more inclusive are more successful. They are better places for people to work and they foster a greater sense of engagement and belonging.

Richard Rowntree
Managing Director – Mortgages

Paragon’s Managing Director of Mortgages, Richard Rowntree, is the senior executive responsible for equality, diversity and inclusion across the Group, including progress against the Women in Finance Charter.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Network

This newly formed internal network was set up to support all employees and encourage a diverse range of talent across Paragon. It is led by an energetic group of employees who each have an understanding and a passion for promoting the benefits of equality, diversity and inclusion. They work to raise awareness and promote education, discussion and best practice at both an operational and strategic level, breaking down barriers and changing perceptions. It is a place for our people to share challenges, experiences and ideas.

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Diversity survey

Each year, we ask all employees to take part in an anonymous survey to capture diversity measures including age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religious beliefs and disability. This helps us evaluate how diverse we are and gives employees the opportunity to feedback suggestions for improvement. In 2020, over 70% of employees took part in Paragon’s fourth annual diversity survey.

Gender Pay Gap Report

This report measures the difference in average pay between males and females at Paragon.

It compares all employees, regardless of role or seniority. It doesn’t indicate that men and women in similar positions are paid different amounts, but it does highlight that men generally hold higher paid roles, encouraging us to take action to address this where we can.

Read full report

External partnerships

30 Percent Club

The 30% Club
cross-company mentoring programme

Paragon is part of an external mentoring programme, led by the 30% Club and delivered by Women Ahead, aimed at supporting females looking to develop their careers and increasing gender diversity at senior levels.

Find out more
The Womens Association

The Women’s Association

Paragon has joined with The Women’s Association to participate in its latest campaign, #ForTheWoman, which spotlights women across different career levels, organisations, and sectors to increase the visibility of women in the workplace.

Find out more

Race At Work Charter

As part of Paragon’s ongoing commitment to ensuring that we are tackling barriers that ethnic minority groups face in recruitment and progression, we have signed up to Business in the Community’s Race at Work Charter.

On joining the charter, we have committed to and are demonstrating the five Race at Work Charter principles, identified by Business in the Community:

1

Appoint an Executive Sponsor for race
2

Capture ethnicity data and publicise progress
3

Commit at board level to zero tolerance of harassment and bullying
4

Supporting equality in the workplace is the responsibility of all leaders and managers
5

Take action that supports ethnic minority career progression

Executive Challenge

Chief Executive Nigel Terrington took part in The Women’s Association’s first Executive Challenge to help inspire future generations of females. Watch as he sits down for a virtual chat with 16 year old Naeemah to share some insights into the life of a CEO.