Women in Finance Charter Significant Achievements (and Emerging Gaps)

HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter’s sixth annual review brought a lot of good news. As Anna mentioned in her update, almost three-quarters of signatories boosted their proportion of women in senior management, with representation rising to 35%.

For the first time, the top quarter of participating firms with regulated financial activities achieved at least 40% female representation in senior management Smaller companies are also consistently outperforming, boasting more female CEOs and more ambitious targets – success that may be due to their more agile and flexible organisational cultures.

However, this growth is not uniform across the financial services industry. A growing gap between the leaders and laggards is emerging, with building societies and UK banks paving the way, while asset managers and global investment banks struggle. In 2018, the average gap was 18 percentage points. In 2022, it was 22.

This uneven progress underscores the importance of tailored strategies and targeted support for different industry sectors. To level the playing field, global and investment banks need to examine and adapt best practices from successful peers, but the whole industry needs to learn from best practice examples and implement policies that foster an inclusive environment. By working collectively and sharing knowledge, we can continue to accelerate progress and close the gender gap, unlocking the full potential of women’s talent and leadership.

You can download a copy of the report here.