Over the last year, 58% of UK financial services board appointments were female, ahead of the Europe-wide average of 50%. The gender diversity data, published by EY, is encouraging for the finance world. Seeing figures of female parity – and even majority – is rare.
But there’s a danger to the data here, too. It’s tempting to look at figures like these and assume finance is finally getting a handle on its gender problem. The reality is starkly different. EY’s report shows that men still hold the board majority at UK financial services firms, with 57% of board members being male and 43% female.
Then there’s the gender pay chasm. Reuters research, published last year, found an average mean gender pay gap of 32.1% among 21 UK major financial institutions, over double the 14.9% average in 2020 for all UK employers, with one institution registering a gap of 51.3%. Yes, there was some narrowing from the previous year – at a little more than 1%. ...