T
he City has come a great distance because the first women had been admitted to the floors of the London stock exchange and the Lloyd’s insurance coverage market simply over 50 years in the past. But not so far as it would wish to suppose.
Its two primary watchdogs, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA ) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), at the moment published consultation papers on boosting diversity within the trade.
Some of the statistics printed with the paperwork make for sobering studying. Even in 2023 simply 12% of fund managers are feminine, whereas fewer than 19% of government positions in banking , capital markets and funds within the UK are held by ladies.
Representation of individuals from an ethnic minority background within the greater echelons of economic providers lags even additional behind.
The papers recommend that making the City’s boardroom and buying and selling flooring extra reflective of British society as a complete — and significantly London — can promote “healthy work cultures, reduce groupthink and unlock talent”.
According to FCA chief government Nikhil Rathi: “For UK financial services to be competitive and for the companies in it to be well run with healthy work environments, it’s vital they attract, retain and promote the best talent. The data suggests this isn’t happening. Our proposals will encourage the largest firms to put in place plans and report against their delivery.”
Welcome phrases after all, however progress is achingly sluggish.
Today’s proposals construct on a dialogue paper relationship again to summer season 2021, and a follow-up coverage assertion shouldn’t be dueuntil subsequent 12 months. That is an terrible lot of well-intentioned paperwork for an issue that has dogged the City for a lot of many years.
The FCA and the PRA are proper to concentrate on the difficulty and have to be daring within the implementation of their plans.
