Promoting Gender Balance in Finance
In the UK, for every £1 a male financial manager or director gets paid their female counterpart gets just 72p according to data from the Office for National Statistics gender pay gap review (2022). This isn’t surprising news for an industry which has historically been dominated by men and unfocused on attracting women. This figure makes even more sense when taking a further look into the barriers that women face as they attempt to advance in their financial careers.
An article by McKinsey & Co (2022) noted that 29% of entry level finance roles are filled by white women compared to only 21% of C-suite roles. This data then reflects an even worse reality for women of colour who fill 19% of entry level finance roles compared to only a measly 5% of C-suite roles.
The data doesn’t look great and it also isn’t selling the financial dream to prospective women looking to pursue a career in finance. However, all is not lost, could change be on the horizon?
Creating Change
There’s plenty of information out there which suggests that change has been slight in recent years. A report by The Pipeline, an organisation aiming to promote the business case for diverse and gender-balanced teams, outlined that in the past five years there has only been a 2% increase in female CEOs in FTSE 100 companies. The same report also stated that improving the gender balance in the FTSE 350 companies would boost GDP by 2.5%; each year we are losing the equivalent of the defence budget, the schools budget and three times the police budget due to gender imbalance at the top levels of these companies.
With data like this available, it would make sense for companies to take notice and start to promote gender equality at every level of the corporate ladder. Although, the question of who is going to hold them accountable still stands.
Luckily, there are some amazing companies looking to make some big changes in the market and make sure that women in the financial sector are supported and inspired to reach new heights.
Paving The Way
Women in Banking and Finance have been promoting diversity and gender diversity in financial services in the UK since 1980. The volunteer-led organisation hosts a number of events and also has a variety of initiatives such as mentorship and a leadership academy set out to help women excel in their finance roles.
The Pipeline helps global organisations promote and retain diverse, gender-balanced teams all the way from middle management up to the C-suite level. Their report, mentioned above, provides industry findings, a concise conclusion on the current situation and 4 simple recommendations for change; change must come from the top, targets must be set and met, male ally-ship is crucial and, there has to be a zero-tolerance policy for bad behaviour.
The Women Backing Women campaign, an initiative born out of the Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship, looks to promote investment amongst women in the UK by providing support and education to become business angels and early-investors. 25% of all companies backed by female angels were female-founded which is a fantastic way of ensuring that more women are able to access the funding they need to succeed in business.
Female x Finance was launched in 2021 by Mélanie Bosboom and Léonie Kennepohl who witnessed the difficulties that women face in finance first-hand and, observed a noticeable outflow of women from the industry. They created their platform in order to make women in finance the norm and increase the female talent pool within the sector.
Are you also looking to promote gender balance in your own company?
To discuss the hiring process with Pearse Professionals, contact us at info@pearseprofessionals.com.
Alternatively we can arrange to meet with you and map out a strategy to fulfil your hiring needs.