There is a problem in finance and it’s right under our nose

This might be stating the obvious, but I’m going to say it anyway. In the financial services sector, too few women get to the top. Female representation on boards is 23% and only 14% on executive committees, while in the mid-tier, women either don’t progress or simply leave the sector altogether. This is not just about childcare, this is about culture.

Last week I spoke at a brilliant event hosted by the British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA) called Breaking Barriers. The private equity industry is among the worst offenders when it comes to female representation in senior leadership. According to New Financial’s Counting Every Woman 2017 report, of the 20 most active private equity firms in Europe, on average only 10% of their executive committee members are women. This is not good enough. It was clear to me at the event that this was a sector that wanted to change for the better – the BVCA recently signed the Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter, committing them to improve gender balance in its ranks. But within the sector itself there are no private equity firms and only two venture capital firms signed up.

Since the Treasury launched the Women in Finance Charter in 2016, more than 200 financial services firms have become signatories, meaning over 650,000 employees in the UK are covered by our plan to tackle gender inequality. And already the Charter is having an impact. Of the first 68 firms to sign the Charter back in 2016:

• more than half (57%) of the Charter’s signatories are on track to meet their future gender targets;
• and over a quarter (28%) of signatories have already met their targets for female representation in senior management.

If we continue on this upward trajectory, the financial services sector we know today could look and feel very different in the future – and it could be far more effective. The need for gender balance is not just a moral argument, it’s an economic one too. As endless research has shown, a balanced workforce is good for business, for customers, for profitability, and for workplace culture. Financial services are our biggest export, fuelling growth and productivity. So, getting gender diversity right today will protect and promote the industry – and ultimately our wider economy - long into the future.

We won’t force firms to sign the Charter. But if you’re reading this blog and you know your firm hasn’t yet signed, I urge you – whatever the size of your business – to reach out to us. Make a commitment to improve gender diversity in your business, create a more productive workplace culture, and join the hundreds of other businesses driving meaningful progress across financial services.