As part of a series of LGBT-friendly diversity initiatives, NatWest allows employees to identify as males and women on different days of the week.
Staff who identify as non-binary – neither male nor female – have been given double-sided lanyards.
The provision allows people to establish “masculine and feminine” personalities and allows them to switch between these separate identities at will.
Natwest has also removed the need for existing customers to tell their gender when they sign up for an account
Furthermore, employees can display their chosen pronouns and phonetic spellings of their names on environmentally friendly bamboo badges.
Guidance on the “diversity, equity and inclusion [DE&I]” section of the NatWest website read: “For our colleagues, we have introduced dual-sided work passes that allow non-binary colleagues to present in the masculine and feminine expression.”
In addition, NatWest stated in the same guidance that it had “introduced the option for our transgender customers to use the ‘Mx’ prefix” as an alternative to Mr, Mrs, and Miss.
The company has also “removed the need for existing customers to tell us their gender” when they sign up for an account.
Since December 2021, NatWest has had a One Bank DE&I committee, which, according to its annual equalities report, “brings together senior leaders to drive DE&I action consistently across the bank.”
As part of its internal Inclusion Champions initiative, over 36,000 employees participated in Choose to Challenge, an electronic learning program, last year to “learn how to confront non-inclusive behaviors,” and they are provided with “suggested learning” each month.
NatWest is one of the majority of high-street banks that participate in Stonewall’s diversity initiatives.
In the controversial charity’s annual Equality Index, HSBC, which allows clients to register as gender-neutral, is presently ranked first.
NatWest announced last year that it would pay for transgender employees to receive privately funded hormone treatment beginning next month.
“Our priority is to ensure that NatWest Group is a welcoming place for all, regardless of sexual orientation”
Trans healthcare services were added to the company’s offering in September, and sick leave policies were altered to accommodate those who are medically transitioning between genders.
It performed a separate review of the wording of employment policies to “ensure language and scenarios are LGBT+ inclusive.”
The bank also owns Coutts, which is currently at the center of a free speech controversy involving Nigel Farage after reports that it closed his account.
“Our priority is to ensure that NatWest Group is a welcoming place for all of our colleagues and customers, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity,” a NatWest Group spokesman said. “We work hard to understand the issues that all of our colleagues and customers face, and we engage with them on a regular basis.”
