Jobs in the financial sector,
specifically high-up executive roles, have historically been dominated by men
and… still are today. BUT, steps are being made to break down this ‘norm’! The
Women in Finance Charter (see here), launched by the Government back
in 2016, is domestically leading the way on such change.
The initiative kicked off after an
eye-opening collaborative investigation between the Government and former
Virgin Money CEO, Jayne-Anne Gadhia on the representation of women in senior
managerial roles within the financial sector. The review revealed that only a
poor 14% of Executive Committees comprised of women –VERY disappointing! However,
action was taken and Her Majesty’s Treasury (where I spent the academic year
2018/19 undertaking a work placement) launched the Women in Finance
Charter.
For my placement year I was based in
the Financial Stability Department, working with the Macroprudential and
International Standards Branch. My role involved me liaising with externals
from the likes of the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority. Even
though I started work a few years into the Charter being launched, I was
sceptical about how many women I would come across in the workplace – yes there
may be more at high-level but what about working level?
Well, I was pleasantly surprised. Of
course, if Government are to start such a campaign then they need to be a good
role model, and they sure are. In regard to working level staff (so those at my
level eg the Economists, Analysts and Policy Leads) I experienced a close to
fair gender balance at HMT, the Bank, and the FCA. And for high-level, so
Branch, Team and Department Managers, I did not call out any wild ratios. Yes,
things could still be improved but it was a very promising picture to look
at!
There are now over 330 firms across
financial services signed up to the commitments of the charter. When an
organisation signs up then they are pledging to promote gender diversity by:
- Having one member of the senior executive team
who is responsible and accountable for gender diversity and inclusion;
- Setting internal targets for gender diversity
in senior management;
- Publishing progress annually against these
targets in reports on their website;
- Having an intention to ensure the pay of the
senior executive team is linked to delivery against these internal targets
on gender diversity.
If you would like to find out more
about The Charter, such as who has signed up, HMT’s commitment and more
information on The Charter guidance, then please click here and check out the GOV.UK website.
Similarly, if you are passionate about anything discussed in this post and want to participate in more conversations surrounding women in finance come along to our next event!
Women in Work and the Economics Society are holding a joint discussion on the Women in Finance Charter on Wednesday the 13th of November 5pm in MB1019. More information can be found via the event page on facebook.
Women in Work and the Economics Society are holding a joint discussion on the Women in Finance Charter on Wednesday the 13th of November 5pm in MB1019. More information can be found via the event page on facebook.
Lydia Gallyer-Barnett 3rd year Business Economics.
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