"Where companies have not stepped up or have fallen behind on their gender balance targets, the risk to shareholder as well as stakeholder return is clear."
The data shows that a third (33%) of the 187 signatories have met or exceeded their targets for female representation in senior management and a further 48% that have targets with future deadlines said they are on track to meet them.
However, while three out of four signatories either increased or maintained representation of women in senior management during the reporting period, 24% reported a decrease in the representation of women.
More positively, female representation in senior management at signatory firms is rising – three out of four (76%) signatories either increased or maintained the proportion of women in senior management during the reporting period
The most common actions signatories reported focusing on are diverse shortlists (26%) , providing diversity-related training (24%) and promoting flexible working (26%), and enhancing parental leave (18%).
At today’s digital event for the launch of the third review, speakers included John Glen MP, the economic secretary to the Treasury and City minister; Gwyneth Nurse, director of financial services at HM Treasury; and Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England.
Yasmine Chinwala from New Financial, who chaired the event, said that while there was more work to be done, she feels that we could now “challenge what was previously thought unchallengeable”. She also touched on the timely fact that three-quarters of the Charter signatories also focused on ethnic diversity as well as gender, asking John Glen MP whether there was room to broaden the aims of the movement in light of the recent swell of support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Glen said that the Treasury was looking at racial diversity in its own right, adding: “The Treasury has looked at the Parker review which shows that, of the FTSE350 companies, 150 had no directors of colour on the board. We have also reviewed the Race at Work Charter, of which there are now 50 signatories, there have been active conversations about how we move this agenda forward that doesn’t appear tokenistic in response to the events in the news, but that gives us the best chance of creating real change.”
He added of the Charter review: “I’m pleased with the progress but not ecstatic - there’s more to be done.”
This sentiment was echoed by HM Treasury’s Gwyneth Nurse, who acknowledged that the Charter had had ‘more impact than we could have imagined’ and said: “I’m pleased to see the progress that’s been made, but we need to go further.”
Speaking on the Bank of England’s progress, Andrew Bailey, the Bank’s governor, said: “There’s no question in my mind that the work and the role of Women in Finance has been instrumental in changing the approach of institutions, and changing the approach of the Bank of England. There’s no question that building targets in has focused minds and translated what was often talk, but not concrete action, into just that - real action. That said, [the Bank of England] haven’t yet achieved our target, but we’ve made a lot of progress.”
He went on to add, “We’re a public institution, we serve the people of this country. We can only do that if we bear a sufficient resemblance to the people we serve.”
Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia, Government Women in Finance Champion, said in the review: “It’s no secret that the most diverse companies are typically the most productive, the most attractive places to work and successful at retaining their people - treating employees as stakeholders in the organisation’s success.
“Where companies have not stepped up or have fallen behind on their gender balance targets, the risk to shareholder as well as stakeholder return is clear. The Covid crisis has shown us that remote working is not just a diversity issue, it is a business continuity issue.
“The progress made by the Charter’s signatories demonstrates how disrupting the status quo, driving change through diversity requires strong leadership and focus. Continued transparency in how we measure equality and report on our efforts will instil confidence in employees that they will be treated fairly and afforded opportunity. Celebrating success and acknowledging opportunities for improvement will strengthen business performance and provide an example for society to follow.”
