The charter was launched this week and set out how to implement the recommendations of Empowering Productivity: harnessing the talents of women in financial services, the review undertaken by Jayne-Anne Gadhia, the Chief Executive of Virgin Money

The Gadhia Review recommends that financial service firms connect parts of the remuneration packages of their executive teams to gender balance targets. It also recommends that firms set internal targets for gender diversity in their senior management, publish progress reports annually against these targets, and appoint an executive solely responsible for gender, diversity, and inclusion.

The government strongly believes these recommendations will be key to driving change in the senior levels of the male-dominated financial services industry and has launched a new Women in Finance Charter today committing to take on board these recommendations.
Jayne-Anne Gadhia will be the first bank chief to sign the Charter on behalf of Virgin Money. She will be joined by representatives of four of the sector’s largest employers, Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays, HSBC and the Royal Bank of Scotland who will pledge their commitment to improve gender diversity in their firms. Columbia Threadneedle will be the first Asset Management firm to sign up on the day, while Capital Credit Union will be leading the charge for mutuals. The Treasury will publish a list of the firms who have signed up to the Charter after three months.

A range of organisations from Credit Suisse to McKinsey say companies with more women in top executive positions generally perform better. In the course of the Review almost 3,200 people from across the UK responded to a public survey into what would enable women to progress in the financial services sector. The results were further tested in interviews and roundtables with financial professionals.

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