Alison is passionate about achieving gender balance at RBS and is executive sponsor for the bank’s employee-led networks, including those for women. Alison is championing action on RBS’s target to achieve gender balance by 2030 through development, networking and performance support. RBS’s networks have delivered unconscious bias training and Alison has introduced programmes supporting women returning to work. Alison has insisted on a 50:50 gender split on each of RBS’s regional boards and she frequently engages with government officials and MPs on diversity. Alison is also involved in an RBS initiative in which Women in Business specialist bankers offer bespoke mentoring, networking and professional business advice to women-led and owned SMEs. In September 2018, Alison led a review on behalf of the UK Government to identify barriers faced by women when starting a business and most importantly what can be done to overcome them. She set out a series of recommendations designed to deliver significant and co-ordinated action to ensure female entrepreneurs across the UK have ample opportunity. As a result, the Prime Minister set out the government’s ambition to increase the number of female entrepreneurs by 50% by 2030, and numerous leading financial institutions are reviewing policies and products, and developing further investment opportunities for female entrepreneurs.