'Gender fluid' Credit Suisse director named on FT list of Top 100 Women in Business

A "gender fluid" senior director at Credit Suisse has been awarded a place on a list of the Top 100 Women in Business.

Philip Bunce, who is known to sometimes go to work in a wig and women's clothing, was named on the Financial Times & HERoes Champions of Women in Business list, an annual ranking of 100 "company leaders who support women in business."

Known as Pips Bunce, the director who is Credit Suisse's Head of Global Markets, Core Engineering Integration Components, came 32nd on the FT's list of 100 female business champions.

After receiving the award he said in a statement: "I am truly honoured and humbled by this award and am proud of the progress we are making towards all forms of gender diversity & equality."

Credit Suisse posted on Twitter: "Congratulations to Pips Bunce on being listed on the Top 100 Female Executives list in the 2018 @HeroesinB & @FT champion of #WomeninBusiness #FTHERoes18"

Everyone on the list is nominated by peers and colleagues at their place of work.

Nominations are reviewed by the FT and a judging panel of senior City executives.

Mr Bunce had previously described in interviews how he waited until he was "established" at Credit Suisse before he started to cross dress four years ago.

In an interview with website Financial News in 2017 he said he knew he was different "from the age of four."

He said: "For me, being gender fluid means I am non-binary, at no fixed point on the gender expression spectrum. I personally have no desire to transition — it doesn’t affect my physical makeup, whereas for others that identify the same, they do wish to transition — there really are no hard and fast rules as these are only labels.

"I have two amazing children, aged 18 and 21, and have been married for over 22 years. At home my children have never known any different. They have always known that dad likes to express differently at different times. It always amazes me how supportive and strong they are. They get the importance of what this means to me and I know that they all love me unconditionally for who I am, not how I choose to express.

"I decided to come out at work about three and a half years ago and for me, this was a big deal.

"I’d reached a point in my life where I thought, It’s really silly me hiding this, why am I putting on this facade and keeping all this hidden at work."

Suki Sandhu, Founder of INvolve and HERoes, said of the list: "These lists have been created with one aim – to create gender parity in workplaces across the globe."