The South Korean film Parasite has won best picture at the Oscars. This is the first foreign language film to win Best Picture and as such is seen as a breakthrough moment in Hollywood’s search for diversity.

But we’ve been here before when a woman won Best Picture and a member of the BME won Best Director, and yet the vast majority of nominations still come from a white male background.

The same diversity issue is apparent in the finance and pension industry. Despite having breakthrough moments with women, less so from BME, taking some senior posts, the vast majority of pension trustees have similar genetic makeup.

So how can we, if not shatter the glass ceiling, change the mould encasing trustee enrolment?

The industry has developed the mantra of saying ‘how complex and difficult the role is’ and although this is true, it is hardly a selling point for possible new recruits.

This downbeat approach, coupled with the paucity in training, time, support and money, deters people even before they put pen to apply.

We need to have an upbeat approach to recruitment, emphasising the advantages to the individual and their role in supporting their fellow workers, coupled with a strong employer commitment to provide the tools to do the job.

This may not solve the diversity issue but at least would break the mould.

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