"Improving the gender balance of the financial services sector will undoubtedly improve productivity, profitability and outcomes for customers."
To coincide with the launch, and in collaboration with HM Treasury, Virgin Money has also created the Women in Finance app to support companies who want to sign the Charter and take action to improve gender balance within their organisation.
HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter asks financial firms to commit to four industry actions to prepare their female talent for leadership positions. Over 600,000 employees in the UK – over half of those employed in financial services - are now covered by the plan, an increase of over 43,000 since July this year.
Since the Charter launched, 120 financial services firms have committed to have at least 30% women in senior roles by 2021 and of those, 40 firms have committed to a 50/50 gender split in senior roles by 2021.
Today’s new signatories will announce their targets in February 2018.
Among the new signatories to the Charter are the Payment Systems Regulator, RSA Group, Allianz Insurance, UK Finance, the Association for Financial Markets in Europe, Old Mutual Wealth and Funding Circle.
The Women in Finance app which is also announced today, will feature video case studies, research and practical tools to support companies who want to act on the gender balance within their organisation.
The Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Stephen Barclay, said: “This is another excellent group of signatories to the Women in Finance Charter. Their actions, alongside those of the other signatories, have the potential to make the UK’s pre-eminent financial services sector more representative and more inclusive. I’m keen to see even more firms follow their example and make a positive, public commitment to improve gender balance in our financial services.”
Jayne-Anne Gadhia, CEO of Virgin Money and the government’s Women in Finance Champion, added: “I’m delighted to see that 162 companies have now signed up to the Women in Finance Charter. Improving the gender balance of the financial services sector will undoubtedly improve productivity, profitability and outcomes for customers.
“There are a range of issues organisations must address to develop fully inclusive workplaces. Through a recent YouGov survey we asked managers in Financial Services how greater equality in Financial Services could be achieved and they identified ten positive actions to help create the right culture.
“To drive change, the Women in Finance company signatories have collaborated to share best practice on these ten positive actions, which are now freely available through the ‘Women in Finance App’ which is launched today. I believe this innovation will help drive improved gender balance throughout the Financial Services industry.”
Stephen Jones, Chief Executive of UK Finance, commented: “The Women in Finance Charter is an important part of the initiatives and support across the financial services industry for the advancement of women in senior management positions. UK Finance is proud to commit to the Charter and we have set ourselves the target of achieving 40 per cent female representation within senior management over three years, and aspire to achieve gender parity over the medium term.”
