Image of Sarai Jacob-Whelan

Sarai Jacob-Whelan

Growing up, the ethos at home and at school was that girls could do anything.  At home, my mother always worked (my parents approached breadwinning and childcare as truly shared responsibilities, unusual at the time); at school, girls often outperformed our male classmates. I think, as a result, I almost took diversity for granted at the start of my career.

I spent more than 5 years working for a law firm (including a client and international secondment) and have worked at Macquarie Asset Management since 2015 as in-house counsel. Walking into any meeting is a regular reminder of what the data is telling us – women and ethnic minorities are underrepresented. I’ve seen through my career how powerful diverse perspectives can be, championing diversity is the right thing to do and it is increasingly necessary to in order to stay relevant to our clients, talent and communities.  

I am passionate about a shift away from platitudes, towards measurable progress and addressing the hurdles that women and ethnic minorities face particularly in terms of “climbing the executive ladder”.  I believe that this is something that has to be thought about holistically and buy in from all stakeholders is essential. I am thrilled to be a Diversity Project Ambassador, to be part of change in the City and to play a meaningful role in improving participation in asset management. 

How to get involved

Join as a member firm

Become a member by declaring your firm’s support at
a business level. Apply now and let us know how you can help.

Join as a Partner or a Supporter

Partners and Supporters are companies and organisations within the industry, who do not fall within our Member definition but share our goals and values and agree to amplify the work the Diversity Project does.

Join as an ambassador

Diversity Project Ambassadors are people with a savings and investment background who support the Project’s ambition to accelerate diversity and inclusion in our sector. They advocate inclusion and offer their time and expertise to support the Project’s activities. Please read about the role of an ambassador.