As a ‘women’s libber’ dating back to the1960s, I was sad to read the following in a paper on diversity and inclusion published by the Bank of England, Prudential Regulation Authority and Financial Conduct Authority: ‘The conversation about diversity and inclusion in many ways is still in its infancy.'
This is more than 50 years after the Equal Pay Act, 21 years after ‘Opportunity 2000’, 15 years after incitement to racial and religious hatred was outlawed, and more than a decade after the Equality Act combating discrimination.
Progress has been made on gender. According to the UK Financial Reporting Council’s report Key Facts and Trends in the Accountancy Profession, half of accountancy students are female, with a similar proportion for managers at audit firms. But this tails off to less than one in five for partners. In FTSE 350 boardrooms, one in three directors are female. But the figures for ethnic diversity lag behind, with many companies having no non-white board members.
Half of accountancy students are female, but this tails off to less than one in five for practice partners
As for social diversity, PwC has just revealed that only 14% of staff (not all were surveyed) are from the lower socio-economic group. KPMG recently set a target of 29% of partners and directors coming from that background by 2030. To improve embryonic data on ethnicity and social background, the Financial Services Skills Commission has created an Inclusion measurement guide.
Persistent problems
What are the persistent problems? Stereotypes, unconscious bias, social capital and work-home balance. The first instills a belief that ‘people like me’ do not become financial professionals. In accountancy, the white male, upper middle class, graduate stereotype has been mitigated by international qualifications and apprenticeships. But the importance of role models cannot be overstated.
Unconscious bias is ubiquitous. Mary Ann Sieghart’s book, The Authority Gap, chronicles reasons why women have more difficulty than men in asserting themselves, or just being heard. The same applies to other groups that conventional leaders or experts view as ‘not like me’.
You cannot have equality at work without sharing the chores at home
Tackling this is tricky. Ellen Carr, co-author of Undiversified – the big gender short in investment management, said in a Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation discussion that training could fail in two ways. People might attend a class and tick the ‘problem-solved’ box, or harsh criticism might turn them off. She advocates ‘reframing bias training as ally training’.
Social capital figures prominently in financial careers. Some young people have heard the language of business from birth, or already have investment pots. Others might not have English as a first language or confidence in dealing with numbers. Recruitment and training programmes must take account of the different starting points. This may raise fears of missteps, but it takes positive action to ensure equality of opportunity.
You cannot have equality at work without sharing the chores at home. Covid-19 has encouraged flexible working and more dads are doing the school run, etc. But if a woman bears the brunt of domestic duties, she will have less time and energy to pursue career ambitions.
Let’s hope it will not take another 60 years for this conversation to mature.
