Treasury Committee chief: I had my JP Morgan bonus cut for taking maternity leave
A top Conservative MP has claimed that while an employee of JP Morgan her bonus was cut because she took maternity leave, as her committee investigates sexism in the Square Mile.
Harriett Baldwin, who chairs the Treasury Committee, told the Observer that she experienced a “glass ceiling” while working at the investment bank in the 1980s.
The committee urged City bosses in 2018 to abolish “alpha male” culture and end the stigma around flexible working.
MPs will scrutinise the sector’s progress since these recommendations and evaluate the impact of the Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter.
Baldwin joined JP Morgan in 1986, working in London and New York. She told of an incident where a senior manager lifted her skirt while she was in her 20s.
She said that after returning from less than four months of maternity leave, the bank cut her bonus despite her strong performance.
“I was one of only 11 per cent of managers in my firm who were women in those days. And there had never been a woman return from maternity leave at the bank,” Baldwin said.
“I performed very highly and I got to the end of the year, and my boss said: ‘OK, Harriett, you’ve had a fantastic year, your portfolios have performed really well, you’ve increased the size of your assets under management, and in a normal year your bonus would have gone up very substantially, but you did take those 14 weeks’ maternity leave, and so I am cutting your bonus back as a result.’”
Baldwin added that while her normal bonus calculation was restored in the years afterwards, she was never fully rewarded for that year.
When asked about the historic allegation, a spokesperson for the bank told Morning Wire: “We are committed to building an inclusive work environment, and we do not tolerate discrimination, harassment, or inappropriate or abusive conduct of any kind.”
The inquiry comes as hedge fund Odey Asset Management announced on Tuesday that it will be winding down after a wave of sexual harassment claims made against founder Crispin Odey.
Baldwin told the Observer that her committee was contacting hedge fund executives to ask them to attend the next hearing.