Women on City board seats up by more than a third since 2016
Women hold 39 per cent more positions on boardrooms than they did five years ago, according to a report by New Financial. The think tank published its evaluation of the impact of a government effort to increase gender diversity in the City’s financial services firms.
The proportion of women sitting on boards across the UK financial services industry has increased from 23 to 32 per cent on boards since 2016. Female representation in executive committees is now 22 per cent, up from 14 per cent.
The report assessed the effect of the Women in Finance Charter launched by HM Treasury in March 2016.
The Charter – signed by more than 400 firms – aims to encourage gender balance in the senior management of financial services firms. It includes a pledge to meet tougher diversity principles and linking inclusion targets to pay.
New Financial says this is “clear evidence that the Charter has made a vital contribution to driving permanent, sustainable change” but that its work is “far from done”.
On average, the Charter’s target of parity would be reached by 2033 for executive committees and by 2029 for boards at the current rate. A decrease in female appointments has already been seen this year, says a report from the gender diversity consultancy The Pipeline.