HSBC — Please DO more

“As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say.
I just watch what they do”
~ Andrew Carnegie

Andrew Carnegie died just over a century ago, after devoting the last two decades or so of his life to giving away his incredible fortune, some $65bn in today’s terms. The phrase above in the photo was the original and is now commonly updated to change “men” to “people”, reflecting societal awareness around gender equity.

I thought of this quote as I readied to write today’s post, which is about watching what one leading company, HSBC, does (or, in fact, doesn’t do) around gender pay equity and so gender pay equality, hence it is with a wry smile that I note the way this quote has morphed from “men” to “people” over time. It changes what the quote says, but now let’s look at that company example.

HSBC — what they say and what they do — gender equality

I recently posted: “HSBC believes a Londoner is a Londoner”, applauding HSBC for taking a stand for inclusivity in this current era of divisiveness based on people’s actual or perceived nationality and ethnicity.

That post featured a billboard ad at a London railway station. A few days later I saw a similar one at a station near Manchester, and tweeted: