Who gets ahead and how?

Research finds that almost nine in ten senior roles in financial services are held by people from higher socio-economic backgrounds. This compares with a third of the UK working population as a whole.

The report – which draws on data from eight major employers in the financial services sector, and adds to existing evidence in professional services – also finds that employees from lower socio-economic backgrounds take 25% longer to progress, despite no evidence of poorer performance. This ‘progression gap’ increases to 32% when considering those from lower socio-economic backgrounds who also identify as Black.

A new taskforce has been launched alongside the report to improve socio-economic diversity at senior levels in financial and professional services across the UK.

The independent taskforce, commissioned by HM Treasury and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and run by the City of London Corporation, focuses particularly on boosting representation at the top of these sectors. 

The taskforce is led by Catherine McGuinness, City of London Corporation Member and Sandra Wallace, Partner and Joint Managing Director UK & Europe at DLA Piper, Andy Haldane, CEO at Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), and Alderman Vincent Keaveny, Chair of Progress Together and Partner at DLA Piper.

For more information email the Talent and Skills team.