In spite of pressures of gender equality, men are still getting most top roles at financial firms in the UK.
Only one in five of the most senior positions at firms were awarded to women last year, according to a survey from law firm Pinsent Masons. It showed that despite the well-intentioned initiatives little progress has been made around diversity.
The recent survey found that of the 4,000-plus individuals it canvassed taking up senior roles in financial services companies, 833 were women and 3211 were men.
The sample covered banks, insurers, fund managers, hedge funds and private equity funds. Partner at Pinsent Masons, Elizabeth Budd said: “Given the attention that gender diversity has given in recent years, I expect many firms will be disappointed that this is not being reflected in the number of women put forward for senior roles.”
Gender diversity has been a major talking point in the financial district (known as the ‘City’) of London for several years now.
In 2017 the Women in Finance Charter was set up by the government to increase the number of females at the top of UK financial services, while the ‘MeToo’ movement shone a spotlight on the industry’s widespread sexism.
But despite these recent developments, Pinsent Masons said its research shows that the financial services sector is still failing to promote and hire women into their most senior positions.
It was revealed in July that the Financial Conduct Authority failed to attract a diverse pool of applicants to the chief executive role. The regulator received only seven applicants from women. The regulator’s incoming chief executive has vowed to make diversity in “all its dimensions” one of his top priorities during his five-year tenure.
Similarly, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey said it was looking likely the central bank will fall short of its 2020 gender diversity target, despite pledging to place diversity at the heart of its cultural agenda. Both the FCA and Bank of England are signatories of the Women in Finance Charter.
One of the excuses given by the businesses about the low number of women in top jobs is the testing combination of long hours and childcare responsibilities. However, Budd said that the coronavirus has dispelled the myth of inflexibility long office hours and will hopefully lead to a lasting cultural change.
“The coronavirus crisis has upended working practices, organisational and operational structures. As a result, women will be hoping that City employers are going to be much more receptive to flexible working requests and this won’t be used as an excuse for the low levels of women at senior levels,” Budd said.
Pinsent Masons said that the firms should be committed to cultural change that “allows women to excel in financial services” and although there hasn’t been a major shift in the industry yet, still recommended signing up to the Women in Finance Charter to achieve this as it has helped to move the sector in the right direction. Latest analysis from New Financial of 187 Women in Finance signatories found 64pc had increased the proportion of women in senior roles last year, while 12 per cent maintained the same level of representation.
On this issue, it is interesting to note that US bank JPMorgan which prides itself on the long-tenure of its employees, promoted a record number of women in the latest round of promotions.
It promoted 116 people to managing director in its corporate and investment bank. Of this number, around 30pc were based in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Of the overall cohort of promotions, 36 per cent are women – up 6 per cent from its record last year.
(The writer is our foreign correspondent based in the UK)
ANDY JALIL
andyjalil@aol.com
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