Context
The FCA has published a speech by Sheree Howard, Executive Director of Risk and Compliance Oversight, at the PIMFA Women’s symposium conference. Howard talks about how to attract more women to work within the financial services industry and suggests that this could be achieved by:
- addressing cultures within the workplace;
- extending the opportunity to earn and grow wealth by engaging women on their terms to meet their needs; and
- championing a ‘new norm’.
Howard also spoke about the findings from the Financial Lives Survey, which show that more women than men are struggling to cope financially.
Key points to note and next actions
Areas for firms to consider:
- Culture is key – Creating a healthy culture within your organisation. Non-financial misconduct is sadly still present within the Financial Services industry and impacts financial performance. It can destroy a firm’s reputation. It clearly deters the widest range of talent from working there and it can undermine the results for consumers. Firms should tackle the individuals who don’t meet those standards, risk their firm’s reputation and their clients’ money, as well as their colleagues’ wellbeing.
- Wealth gap – it is not often spoke about the wealth gap between genders and that the wealth gap is partly down to historical anomalies over women in paid work, but it is not helped by low representation across financial services. Today firms have the power to tackle some of this with who they hire and how they communicate and innovate.
- Women as investors.