According to Fox Law Firm’s Monday research, women make up less that 25% of senior finance positions in Britain.
Only 1,365 of the 5,815 promotion and hires to top positions in UK financial services last fiscal year (23.5%) are included in this study. Fox and Partners say it’s a little better than 2020 (21%).
Catriona Watt, partner in the law firm, notes that “Women are still underrepresented at senior management level but, more worryingly,” she said.
It will take cultural changes and “significant” cultural shifts to accelerate the march toward parity, she says. She warns that “the percentage of women in senior leadership positions will have to increase dramatically” if we are to attain leadership parity in the next generation.
Fox recently conducted studies
The firm recommends that women interested in these positions be mentored and supported by actions. Companies should also commit to the British Treasury’s charter for women in finance. These include the appointment of at least one senior manager to be responsible to diversity, setting senior management parity goals and publishing an annual report to evaluate progress. Also, linking compensation for diversity targets with compensation.
The number of women who sit on the boards of FTSE-100 companies has increased from 12.5% to nearly 40% in ten years, thanks to criteria that were previously voluntary and only published by a government-mandated agency on assessing parity within listed companies.
As the Fox study shows, senior management positions still suffer from a significant lag.
The FTSE-100, which contains the 100 largest London valuations, has fewer than ten female CEOs.
The UK’s Markets Regulatory Agency has intensified its push for diversity within listed UK companies. They now demand “explains” if they fail to meet certain thresholds including 40% female board members. administration.
