Europe’s Major Banks look to address the Gender Diversity Issue
As proud members of the HM Treasury Women In Finance Charter, it was pleasing this week to read that nearly all of Europe’s major banks are now linking executive pay to diversity and inclusion targets.
The HM Treasury Women In Finance Charter, launched by the UK government in 2016 commits firms to support the progression of women into senior roles in the financial services sector by focusing on the executive pipeline and the mid-tier management level. Members are required to annually report progress and set internal targets to support the transparency and accountability needed to facilitate change. The HM Treasury Women In Finance Charter has now been signed by more than 400 banks and financial services firms, including many of Europe’s largest lenders.
Although the level of female representation in senior management level positions among the HM Treasury Women In Finance Charter increased to 32% in 2020 from 31% the year before shows that the financial services industry is ‘moving in the right direction’, however over half of the charters signatories with a 2020 deadline missed their targets. The Charter has also started to collect data from its signatories on additional diversity strands, including ethnicity, sexual orientations, socio-economic backgrounds and disability; although it is early days the fact that businesses are now exploring intersectionality data can only be of benefit in delivering a more diverse and inclusive workplace in the future.
Tracy Fletcher, Managing Director of Campbell & Fletcher Recruitment
We know that a balanced workforce is great for business, it improves profitability and workplace culture. We are proud to have delivered against our own internal targets, and are working with a number of UK finance and banking companies on helping them meet their diversity & inclusivity challenges.