On 15 February, Nicky Morgan, Chair of the Treasury Committee, took the interesting step of naming and shaming Financial Services firms who are yet to sign up to the Women in Finance Charter. While this certainly sends a strong message, the Government needs to be aware that its ambition to achieve gender balance at all levels in the financial sector, as set out in the Charter, is problematic.

Within UK Financial services, 82% of jobs are full-time - greater than UK labour force average. The majority of senior management roles are also ‘greedy’ roles, requiring employees to be ‘ideal workers’ (i.e. to prioritise work over everything else in their lives). If this requirement remains unchanged, firms need to recruit future senior managers from the work-centred pool, estimated to be 75% male and 25% female. Assuming men and women from this work-centred pool have equal capabilities (e.g. technical skills, social skills) and equality of opportunity, a fair gender balance target for senior management positions in financial services would be 75% male / 25 % female and not 50/50 as set out in the Women in Finance Charter.

However, this isn’t a valid reason for firms to avoid a commitment to gender equality…

Working in financial services in the early 1980s, I was once summoned into an unexpected meeting by one of the Executives. There was no issue with my performance. Instead I was asked to explain why I was wearing trousers. At the time women in the sector were mostly considered to be window dressing, and certainly not taken seriously in terms of their contribution or potential for senior roles.

The sector - one that employs around 1.1 million people and contributes £124.2 billion, more than 7% of the total Gross Value Added to the UK economy - is now, thankfully, very different. And yet, inequalities and negative attitudes to women taking more senior roles are still a problem, leading to regular examples of conflict, employment tribunals and damage to organisational reputations. Financial services firms are not, it appears, making as much progress as those in other sectors. Most seriously of all, it was the masculine, combative, risk-taking culture that allegedly played a significant part in the global financial crash of 2008.

In recognition of the problem, the UK government launched the ‘Women in Finance Charter' in March 2016 in a bid to encourage gender balance at all levels across financial services firms, committing firms to supporting the progression of women into senior roles in the sector by focusing on the executive pipeline and the mid-tier level. So far 141 organisations have signed up to the Charter, including all the major high street banks.

Firms who are yet to sign up to the Charter appear to be oblivious of the benefits of appointing more women to the Boardroom and to leadership roles at all levels - despite convincing evidence from numerous rigorous research studies.

For progress to be made towards the Charter goals, there needs to be more understanding of what the goals really mean for businesses and for employees. Human Resources functions can do a great deal such as introducing and promoting flexible working policies. But of course, the issue is not about the formal policy but how the policy is enacted and regarded by managers and executives. If discriminatory attitudes persist, such as “you can work part-time if you want, but it’s disappointing and never going to help your career”, then gender balance will simply not happen. It’s a challenge that affects both women and men looking to find a better work-life balance while also developing their career.

Some would argue that investment banking will always be a special case. Work in this industry currently involves extreme levels of competition, risk and reward such that people have to surrender their lives to make it possible to participate. Firms not working on this basis potentially risk being uncompetitive. But for the majority of the financial services sector there’s no logical reason why employees should be expected to give their lives to ‘greedy’ jobs which routinely require them to work evenings or weekends.

The Scottish parliament is an example of what’s possible. Holyrood took the decision to change its working practices, structure and working hours hence there are now no more 11pm votes, unlike the House of Commons in London. Work routines have been made more people-shaped - simple enough changes that have had an impact. Who would have thought in the male-dominated world of Scottish politics 30 years ago that 35% of Scottish MPs would now be women - and more than that, women would lead both of the two main political parties?

To really make a difference in the sector, we need to see Financial Services firms:

• Increase availability of family-friendly policies – for men and women
• Eliminate gender bias in HR processes (recruitment, promotion etc.)
• Enforce zero tolerance of ‘locker room’ behaviour
• Advertise/promote Financial Services firms so they appeal to women as much as men

These steps won’t be enough on their own - profound changes are also needed at a societal level. What’s needed is a better balance of the proportions of men and women choosing to live work-centred lives (and who are able to live work-centred lives) by increasing the proportion of work-centred women and reducing the percentage of work-centred men. This means that more men need to look at options to work flexibly, and combine work and family responsibilities, in line with emerging trends.

To learn more about what’s currently happening in the sector, my research involves undertaking an in-depth case study with one of the big banks. By interviewing young aspiring leaders, both male and female, to understand their attitudes and experiences, the project aims to identify ways to improve gender equality within managerial pipelines. Arranging a meeting with a senior member of the bank’s HR team, I was delighted to hear that he needed to leave at 3pm to see his son’s nativity play - the kind of concession to family life that needs to be more common, more accepted, if the wider culture of the sector is going to find a fairer, more balanced and more prosperous future.