Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure that the UK financial sector (1) increases its diversity, and (2) ensures equal pay.

This question was answered on 2nd July 2019
It is the Government’s aspiration to see diversity across the UK economy, and HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter reflects our ambition to see an improved gender balance in the financial services industry. So far, over 330 financial services firms have signed the Charter, committing to implement strategic actions to improve their gender balance in senior positions.

Regarding wider work to improve diversity in the UK labour market, we are supporting the government commissioned Hampton-Alexander review to push for 33% of all board and senior leadership positions to be held by women by 2020 in the FTSE 350. Government also fully supports the Parker Review, which recommends that FTSE100 and 250 boards should have at least one director of colour by 2021 and 2024, respectively. The Prime Minister also launched the Race at Work Charter and a consultation on mandatory ethnicity pay reporting as part of a package of measures to make the workplace fairer for people from ethnic minority groups. Over 150 employers have signed the Race at Work Charter, including a number of financial services firms.

Equal pay for men and women doing the same work, equivalent work or work of equal value, has been a legal requirement since 1970. The Government remains fully committed to the Equal Pay protections in the Equality Act 2010.

In 2017, the Government introduced regulations requiring large employers across all sectors, including financial services, to publish the differences in what they pay their male and female staff in average salaries and bonuses annually. The gender pay gap is caused by many factors and does not necessarily mean an employer has breached equal pay laws. Transparency is key to highlighting gender-based differences in pay and enabling employees to hold their employers to account, particularly where equal pay law may have been breached.