Barclays : "I’d rather you embrace me for my differences"

Hannah clearly remembers her own experiences during her early career in personal and business banking. "I was the youngest person in my team, and I was still looking around and thinking: 'You don't look like me, you don't sound like me, you don't come from the same background as me'."

Since then, Hannah has made it her mission to be "a role model that people can look up to, so they can see colleagues who look like them in senior positions". Winning a Rising Star award in the Banking and Capital Markets category from careers website WeAreTheCity has helped this visibility. "It was awesome to be recognised - not only for me, but for others to see."

"We need to make sure we're an option for people from every background"

A working mother with three children aged 13, nine and two, Hannah has also found the time outside Barclays to create Rarity London, a career development service for women. Her aim is help others understand their strengths, and map out how they can achieve ultimate job satisfaction throughout their careers.

"Rarity is a passion project," Hannah explains. "I have always been passionate about supporting women with their career development - and this was my way of doing that. With my background, there were things in my career I had to learn myself because I had no one around me to help. But now that I'm in a better position in my career, I want to support women and help them in the early stages of their own journeys."

Hannah's work with her clients builds on lessons learned from her own role at Barclays, where she reports to the Group Chief Diversity Officer, Ray Dempsey. "As an organisation, we need to create the environment and the culture that allows people to thrive," she says. "I never knew how to manage stakeholders or how to deliver a presentation - I was a girl from south London, with a bit of an accent, and I had to learn all of that."

With her focus on socio-economic inclusion, Hannah describes her work at Barclays as truly intersectional. "It runs across race, gender and every social characteristic," she says. "One of the key questions that organisations can ask their workforce is: 'What did your parents do when you were 14?' It isn't always about race or gender or sexual orientation. It can also be about your economic status and your background."

This is crucial to attracting the best new talent to the business, Hannah adds. "We don't want people to look at Barclays and think there's no place for them here. We need to make sure we're an option for people from every background, and ensure that all colleagues feel fully supported.

"It's about bringing stories together so that people can learn. And as you learn, you become more inclusive because you become more aware."

I never knew how to manage stakeholders or how to deliver a presentation - I was a girl from south London, with a bit of an accent, and I had to learn all of that.

Hannah Awonuga

Global Head of Colleague Engagement, Diversity and Inclusion at Barclays

Hannah recently won a WeAreTheCity Rising Star award in the Banking and Capital Markets category.