Trinity’s Prof Blanaid Clarke today called for a re-examination of how corporate boards deal with sexual misconduct at a conference looking at the culture of Irish banking hosted in Trinity.
The Central Bank of Ireland and Trinity School of Law, alongside Minister for Finance Paschal O’Donohoe today hosted the conference, which analysed the culture of the Irish banking sector and the growing need for reform.
The event, entitled “Culture, Diversity & the Way Forward for Corporate Governance in Ireland” focused on examining the findings of the Central Bank’s review of behaviour and culture in Irish retail banks and analysed whether these findings had broader implications for the financial services sector.
In a press statement, the Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe, emphasised “the need to rebuild trust in the Banking sector”. “It is imperative that we see a real shift in people’s perception of banks and that customer care is central to financial services’ operations”, he said.
Clarke, the McCann Fitzgerald Chair in Corporate Law, spoke of the public discourse around sexual misconduct in the workplace. “In a year when issues of sexual misconduct and sexism have dominated public discourse, and the #MeToo movement has made headlines, boards should re-examine their oversight role in relation to this aspect of organisational culture. Concern for the personal toll on victims should be reason enough for boards to consider the welfare of their employees”, she said in a press statement.
A number of esteemed speakers attended the event, which included panel discussions on diversity in corporate governance and improving behavior and culture in the sector. Academics from the University of Glasgow, the London School of Economics and the University of Sydney Law School were present, as well as representatives from Ulster Bank, the Financial Conduct Authority and Bank of Ireland.
Speaking in a press statement on behalf of the Central Bank of Ireland, Deputy Governor Ed Sibley said: “Restoration of trust in the financial services system is necessary for the delivery of our vision for financial services as a whole – that it functions well, is well-managed and well-regulated and it serves the needs of the economy and its customers over the long term.”
