Financial services sector can only build public trust by reflecting wider society in its diversity - CII
The Treasury Committee has today published a unanimously-agreed Report on Women in Finance. The Chartered Insurance Institute responded saying:
The Treasury Select Committee’s report on Women in Finance was informed by written evidence from the CII – and cites the research from our submission.
We’re firm believers that the financial services sector can only build public trust and better understand and meet the needs of our customers by reflecting wider society in its diversity. The more remote the sector appears to the public, the harder this becomes. We’re delighted by the challenge the Treasury Select Committee and Chair Nicky Morgan has posed in not just exposing the barriers that exist that prevent women progressing in the financial services sector, and why this matters, but by also clearly highlighting the concrete steps we should expect each other to take within our own organisations and in the wider profession in order to achieve a gender balanced workforce.
As with gender pay gap reporting, rather than dwelling on shortcomings alone or shying away from the results, this should be an opportunity for us to focus on how this call to action can be used as a tool to attract the best employees to our businesses and to understand how to get the most out of our workforce. We need to urgently address this issue if we are to attract the best talent and remain competitive in the marketplace in the years to come.
Ultimately, ensuring that the contributions and potential of our female talent is fully recognised, valued, developed and rewarded is the first step to building a profession more representative of the public we serve.
