Testimonies from 40 women across banking, insurance, and asset management in Britain describe diversity and inclusion initiatives as often “tokenistic,” and lacking the “teeth” to make a change in an industry where misogynistic attitudes linger.
The summary of a private roundtable held in November 2023 with lawmakers was released on Wednesday ahead of the final session of a Parliamentary inquiry into the extent of sexism in the City of London. Leaders from the Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority spoke on the issues and the regulators’ proposals to boost diversity and inclusion within firms.
When it comes to ways of addressing imbalances, such as collecting data on the representation of women, “it is not completely straightforward to make progress in these areas,” said Vicky Saporta, executive director of prudential policy at the PRA. “Even if your intentions are extremely good and completely dedicated.”
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Attendees of the roundtable said that wider social changes have barely affected the finance world since the #MeToo movement that brought sexism to the fore half a decade ago. Although issues such as sexist “office banter” have abated, the testimonies said that “misogynistic mindsets remained widespread, with behaviors having instead become more underhand and pernicious.” Most of the attendees had experienced sexual harassment or knew of colleagues who had.
The most recent inquiry started in 2023 in the wake of scandals surrounding hedge fund manager Crispin Odey and the Confederation of British Industry. It follows an inquiry in 2018 that drew attention to the underrepresentation of women at senior levels of finance.
The testimonies also described company HR systems that were inadequate for dealing with complaints, with attendees saying “HR’s role was clearly to protect the firm rather than support the victim.” Little or no action was being taken for most allegations of sexual misconduct, they said — and often the woman reporting the incident faced repercussions, including being forced out the industry altogether. “Many felt that a woman needed to be prepared to lose her career in order for her to report a case of sexual harassment,” the summary said.
“We see this evidence come to us also as the leaders of the FCA and it’s deeply troubling,” said Nikhil Rathi, chief executive for the FCA, at the Parliamentary inquiry. “And we’ve spent a lot of time thinking through and talking about what further steps we can take.”
Photograph: The City of London financial district. Photo credit: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
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