Female representation in the City is rising thanks to Treasury Charter

14 Mar 2019 03:32 PM

"HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter continues to play a leading role in improving the gender balance across the UK’s financial services sector", says Jayne Anne-Gadhia.

Over 800,000 employees in the UK are now covered by the Women in Finance Charter, as more than 30 new companies sign up to the government’s plan to tackle gender inequality in financial services.

Vitality, Skipton Building Society, and Commerzbank AG are just some of the new firms signed up to the Charter, taking the total number of businesses signed up to over 330.

Today’s announcement also marks the launch of the second Women in Finance Charter Annual Review, which shows that female representation in senior management at firms who have signed up to the charter is rising, with 86% of signatories having either increased or maintained the proportion of women in the top jobs. The Review also shows that the Charter is holding firms to their promise, with 87% of signatories on track or already having met their ambitious targets.

John Glen, Economic Secretary to the Treasury said:

Gender equality is not just a moral imperative, it’s also better for employees and better for business. Which is why it’s vital that we see conversations on gender diversity taking place across the financial sector. “Without the committed women and men championing the gender agenda at every level in their firms, we would not have seen the fantastic progress that we have today. But, we will only see long-lasting change with consistent action, so we’ll continue to monitor the progress of the sector closely to ensure it keeps up the momentum. If progress slows, we can and will take further action.

Jayne Anne-Gadhia, the government’s Women in Finance Champion said:

HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter continues to play a leading role in improving the gender balance across the UK’s financial services sector

We know that there is more to be done and I am pleased to see the progress made by Charter signatories so far, and that a further 36 financial services firms have made a public commitment to develop a more diverse and inclusive workforce by signing the Charter.

HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter asks financial services firms to commit to four industry actions to prepare their female talent for leadership positions.

Further Information:

Over 330 firms have now signed the Women in Finance Charter. The 36 new firms that have signed the Charter are: