Research from the New Financial think-tank found that 62% of firms that have signed to the Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter have taken specific action to support female career progression.
The government said initiatives, such as succession planning, examining hiring practices and unconscious bias training, are helping to make the culture at these firms more female-friendly, helping to attract and retain the best talent.
Economic secretary Stephen Barclay said: “For too long many women in finance have been underpaid, underrepresented and undervalued compared to men and it’s great to see the Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter making a tangible difference.”
The progress made through the charter, launched in March 2016, has been welcomed by women already working at highest level in finance.
Thus far 122 firms have signed up to improve gender balance in senior management, these cover more than 500,000 people in the UK – almost half of the financial sector.
Jayne-Anne Gadhia, chief executive of Virgin Money and government’s Women in Finance Champion, said: “I’m delighted to see such strong progress being made by the financial services sector.
“Embracing diversity not only improves productivity and business performance, it is quite simply the right thing to do.”
Yasmine Chinwala, partner at New Financial and author of the report, said: “The survey data clearly shows that the charter is already beginning to make an impact on financial services at both company and industry level, and not only for female representation but diversity as a whole.
“The big challenge ahead will be making sure diversity stays on the business agenda.”
