Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government further to the Women in Finance Charter, published on 30 June, what is the definition of a woman used in the gender diversity targets that must be reported to HM Treasury, and whether biological men who self-identify as a woman can be counted as a woman for the purposes of the data reporting.

The Women in Finance Charter is a voluntary, Government-backed initiative established by HM Treasury in 2016 to improve the representation of women in senior positions in UK financial services.

The Charter seeks to support the productivity, competitiveness, innovation and growth of the sector by improving the gender balance of senior leadership in signatory firms. Around 400 financial services firms have signed up to the Charter, covering more than 1.1 million employees. On 30 June 2026, HM Treasury published a 10 Year Review of the Charter to mark its tenth anniversary.

Charter signatories are responsible for setting their own targets for gender diversity in senior management and for defining the senior management population covered by those targets.

Individual signatory firms are responsible for determining how they measure, monitor and report progress against their commitments under the Charter.