Major financial services firms dedicate efforts to tackle gender inequality

Major banks including HSBC UK, Santander, RBS and Lloyds have published new gender strategies, which commits them to targets for the number of women they employ in senior roles.

As part of the government’s Women in Finance Charter, national financial services firms agreed to publish progress on gender balance annually and today’s publications set record targets for female representation at high-profile job roles.

Of the 72 firms which signed the charter, 60 have now committed to having at least 30% of women in senior roles by 2021. This includes 15 banks and 13 insurers which combined employ over 375,000 people in the UK.

Thirteen organisations, including Virgin Money, the Financial Conduct Authority and Legal and General, are aiming for complete gender equality in senior roles - a 50/50 split.

As part of the charter, which was established by HM Treasury, the 72 firms also agreed to make an individual executive responsible for these commitments and as a result, 20 firms have now named their CEO as the senior executive accountable for progress against the targets.

The firms which have published the strategies today employ over half a million people and span across a wide range of the financial services sector, from FinTech firms to asset managers.

Over half are also headquartered outside of London, with a particularly strong presence in Scotland.

Prime Minister Theresa May said: “The UK is a world-leader in financial services, but the sector could do even better if it made the most of many talented women who work in finance.

“Too few women get to the top and many don’t progress as quickly as they should or they leave the sector completely.

“So it is good news that so many firms have signed the Women in Finance Charter and are now dedicating themselves to tackling gender inequality. They recognise the business case for doing so and with ambitious targets to deepen the female talent pool, these firms are leading the way.

“I want to see a diverse sector run by talented men and women and I look forward to seeing many more businesses promoting women and helping to make the UK the best place in the world to do business.”

Alongside gender diversity targets, firms have set out strategies for how these targets will be achieved, including improving flexible working, making recruitment gender neutral and distributing high profile work more fairly.

Financial services is the country’s highest paid sector but has the widest gender pay gap, at 39.5%, compared with 19.2% across the economy. This means that for every pound earned by a man in financial services, a woman earns just over 60p.

Simon Kirby, City Minister, said: “These firms are setting a great example for the rest of the financial services sector by prioritising gender equality throughout their businesses.

The benefits of a more equal workforce are clear and I call for more firms to show their commitment to this cause by signing up to the Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter.“

Jayne-Anne Gadhia, chief executive at Virgin Money said: “I am delighted that 60 firms have committed to a target of at least 30% women in senior roles by 2021. Signing the Women in Finance Charter, and the commitment to deliver on ambitious targets, will help to build a more balanced and fair industry.

“Enabling women to fully realise their potential at work is good for strong, sustainable business performance, has clear social and economic benefits and I encourage all firms across the sector to follow suit.”