(Source: PageGroup perm hiring stats). 2014 UK hires â financial services*: percentage of female hires (by function).
What would tempt you back to work? Gender diversity in financial services April 2015 The majority of large corporates want and need to hire women. News headlines are full of success stories, such as the 30% Club being closer to its target of 25% women on FTSE 100 company boards by the end 2015. Financial services companies are especially keen to hire female talent to readdress their gender balance and help improve their public perception and well as reap the commercial benefits of a better gender balance. So, with 46.5% of the working population being female, why is achieving gender diversity proving to be such a challenge?
A FEW FACTS:
The UK workforce is now the largest it has been on record
Since 2008, the rate at which women have been entering the workforce has been much faster than for men
Overall numbers employed in the financial services sector between 2008 and 2014 have fallen by over 50,000
2008 – 2014 UK working population
♂
♀
2.2%
4.0%
Within FS the number employed has fallen, but females have fallen disproportionately: 2008 – 2014 FS industry
♂
♀
(2)%
(11)%
(Source: ONS Statistics Dec 2008 to Sep 2014 – SIC 2007 Class K used for FS sector)
BUT, women have been leaving the industry at a much faster rate than men with the number of women in FS falling by 11.1% vs. a 2.2% decline in men
Women in financial services PageGroup has been working with financial services institutions for nearly 40 years. Our most recent hiring data shows that these corporates are seeing early signs of success with improving their rates of female recruitment. In 2014, 54% of all hires into the FS sector were women, but the rate of female hires in the £90K+ salary bracket is less than 25%. 2014 UK hires – financial services*: percentage of female hires (by function)
2014 UK hires – financial services*: percentage of female hires (by salary)
Other (Tech, property, procurement)
24%
£130k+
25%
£90k to £129k
39%
£60k to £89k
52%
£40k to £59k Up to £40k
62% (Source: PageGroup perm hiring stats)
Human resources
Legal and policy Marketing, sales and digital Finance Front office
15% 86% 55% 53% 20% 27% (Source: PageGroup perm hiring stats)
A number of major banks have also identified that finance remains one of the weakest areas for gender diversity. Our data shows that just 20% of finance roles are held by women compared to over 50% in legal and policy, sales and marketing, and over 80% in human resources. Reasons for this dramatic difference include: a demand led, long hours culture, a lack of senior management sponsorship around agile work patterns and a reputation of finance in financial services being a men in grey suit environment.
* Please note: source includes financial services and insurance data as per PageGroup industry sectors
What do women bring? Gender diversity not only ensures that institutions are representative of their customer base, but there is an increasing body of evidence showing that a more equal gender balance also makes commercial sense… A study by workplace research firm Catalyst found that companies with three or more women on their boards had a 46% higher return on equity, a 60% higher return on invested capital, and an 84% higher return on sales. (Source: Diversification of a Different Kind, CFA institute By Sherree DeCovny, March 2015) This is backed up by the results of the Credit Suisse Gender 3000, which showed the return on equity for companies with women in more than 10% of key positions was 27% higher than for those with less than 5%. (Source: CS Gender 3000: Women in Senior Management, September 2014)
“
The best companies are those that are truly diverse. A company with a more gender balanced management team promotes a far better working environment that is reflective of its customer base and ultimately makes for a happy, productive workforce.
“
Steve Ingham | PageGroup CEO
How can we help? Addressing the shortage of female talent in finance in the financial services industry is going to be gradual and measured. It needs to involve cultural change and an adaptation of working practices to allow more dynamic working styles. The banks are increasingly reliant on agencies and suppliers to provide broad job candidate shortlists to increase the probability of a diverse hire. PageGroup is working with a number of leading banks, focused on achieving a meaningful improvement in their gender balance. We are working with our clients to create progressive roles, with more dynamic and flexible working patterns e.g. part time and job share roles, in areas that
have traditionally been dominated by a full working week and long hours. If you are an experienced finance professional looking to continue, resume or embark on your career in financial services, given the right opportunity, the please contact me. Alternatively if you are interested in discussing this further or attending one of our diversity seminars I would love to hear from you.
Nina Buttle | Page Executive T: 020 7645 1413 M: 07747 534351 E:
[email protected] https://uk.linkedin.com/pub/nina-buttle/1/79b/43
Nina has been with PageGroup for 12 years working with finance professionals in financial services. She juggles a busy home and work life with three boys under the age of nine and works four days a week.
