Major financial services firms step up efforts to tackle gender gap
Major banks including HSBC
As part of the government's Women in Finance Charter, firms agreed earlier this year to publish progress on gender balance annually and today's publications set record targets for female representation at the highest levels.
Of the 72 firms who 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 leading insurers who together employ over 375,000 people in the
Thirteen organisations, including
View the full list of charter signatories and their targets
As part of the charter, established by
The firms who have published their strategies today employ over half a million people and span across the breadth of the financial services sector, from FinTech firms to asset managers. Over half are also headquartered outside of
Today's news has been welcomed by Prime Minister
"The
"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
Alongside gender diversity targets, firms have set out strategies for how they'll hit these targets, 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.
The Gadhia review found that in
"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
"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."
The Women in Finance Charter, set up by the
- linking the remuneration packages of their executive teams to gender diversity targets
- setting internal targets for gender diversity in their senior management
- publishing progress reports annually against these targets
- appointing a senior executive responsible for gender diversity and inclusion
New Financial, a think tank working with the
Further charter signatories will be announced next month.
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