Adele Langlois is a business support manager for Barclays in Jersey and also plays a pivotal role in helping her colleagues to deliver the Barclays Citizenship agenda across the island. Most associated with her work are the Barclays Community Awards and the Barclays Jersey Boat Show. Adele was also integral to the launch of the Barclays Eagle Lab at Jersey Library. Can you give an intro to your career so far and what have been your highlights? I joined Barclays as a junior and have worked my way through a lot of different roles to get to where I am now. That route has given me a great insight into all aspects of Barclays and the knowledge I gained has proved invaluable in the role I’m now doing as business support manager. I lead the island’s Citizenship activity, which is focused on Barclays’ Shared Growth Ambition. Shared Growth is about making decisions and doing business that provides our clients, customers, shareholders and the communities we serve with access to a prosperous future. This side of my role is definitely one of my highlights. Through Barclays colleague volunteering we have helped lots of people of all ages, with our Code Playground, LifeSkills and Digital Eagles initiatives. I find projects like the outreach programme we have supported with Music in Action particularly rewarding as we are working with young people to give them the skills they require to gain employment and set themselves up for a successful future. The Barclays Jersey Boat Show is a regular highlight and I have been involved with the show (and the Barclays’ Duck!) for seven years. Each year the funds we raise for our chosen charities make a real difference and it is great to see so many of my colleagues volunteering to help out.
I am also really excited by the Barclays Eagle Lab and what it offers the island. We have resources for prototyping, mentors and business events to provide advice for start-ups and businesses looking to expand, and the tools to help individuals grow their digital skills. On a personal note, learning how to use the 3D printers was great fun!
fewer women in leadership roles than men, in business and other sectors. So I’d say it is fact but, again, many organisations and businesses including Barclays are actively working to ensure that it is not a factor in the makeup of their leadership teams.
What are your goals/ambitions?
What's the best piece of advice you have been given
To make a difference and leave things better than I found them.
Treat others as you would like to be treated – it surely can’t be any clearer than that!
Sounds like a cliché, but I find the work that we do with Barclays’ Shared Growth Ambition is very rewarding. Activities such as Code Playground, the Digital Eagles and LifeSkills have the potential to improve people’s skills and their prospects for gaining employment. If the work that I do changes just one life for the better (although hopefully many more than one) then it will have been worthwhile.
Describe yourself in three words
Do you have a view on female 'quotas' in the boardroom? There are certainly benefits to organisations actively helping more women to gain the skills and experience they need to reach the boardroom and this is something that is supported at Barclays. Indeed in Jersey, Barclays has a 50/50 ratio of managing directors and directors. Have you faced any gender issues in your career so far? I can honestly say that I haven’t. Barclays is very supportive of gender diversity and has a number of initiatives in place which address this issue in a very positive way, such as the Women’s Initiative Network and our diversity workgroup which does, of course, deal with all aspects of diversity, not just gender. Is the glass ceiling fact or fiction? It is not something I have personal experience of however there are undeniably
Generous, dedicated, fun. That was harder than it should have been! About Barclays Barclays is a transatlantic consumer, corporate and investment bank offering products and services across personal, corporate and investment banking, credit cards and wealth management, with a strong presence in our two home markets of the UK and the US. With over 325 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays operates in over 40 countries and employs approximately 120,000 people. Barclays moves, lends, invests and protects money for customers and clients worldwide. For further information about Barclays, please visit our website home.barclays