Fewer than 1 in 5 senior finance roles held by women
Women make up less than 20 per cent of senior leadership roles at UK financial services businesses, highlighting the persistent gender gap at the top of the industry.
According to new data by employment law firm Fox & Partners, out of the 66,860 senior executives in UK financial services businesses, only 12,430 are held by women.
The share of senior roles held by women within this sector has increased marginally, as the figure last year was 18 per cent.
The data compiled by the law firm includes senior executive roles, such as CEOs and executive directors, as well as chief risk officers, and non-executive roles, including senior independent directors.
When examining the top role in a financial business, a CEO, women make up just 9 percent of the 5,140 chief executives covered by the study.
This comes after Morning Wire revealed last month that female chief financial officers (CFOs) in the UK consistently outperform industry benchmarks.
Commenting on the new data, partner Catriona Watt Fox & Partners, explained: “The proportion of women in senior leadership of financial services companies has been moving forward, but at a remarkably slow pace.”
She also pointed out the “concern that the reversal of many DEI initiatives at financial services businesses in the US could lead to a slowing of investment in programmes in the UK that improve diversity at senior levels within banks and fund managers.”
Diversity in the spotlight
President Donald Trump issued a series of executive orders earlier this year targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion programmes in the public and private sectors, prompting many US firms to compile their own initiatives.
One example in the report was Goldman Sachs, which scrapped its IPO diversity pledge to only take companies public in the US or Europe that had at least two board members from an ethnic minority background.
However, many UK business leaders stated that they were not adjusting their approach to DEI, despite their American counterparts reevaluating their policies in response to pressure from Trump.
On shifting that number into a more positive figure, Watt explained: “UK financial service businesses still need to do more to attract women to the industry and promote more women from within their businesses.”
“Financial services firms need to create a positive workplace culture that incentivises women to stay long term and show them what their career path can look like. They also need to be given the experience and exposure to roles that allow them to compete for senior leadership positions,” she added.