Overt discrimination may be rarer, but the numbers – and bankers’ experiences – tell a different story
Move over Gordon Gekko – Naomi Bishop (played by Breaking Bad’s Anna Gunn) is now in charge over on Wall Street, at least in new film Equity, which hit UK cinemas last month. Gone are the depictions of sexual harassment and discrimination; Bishop is firmly in charge as a top investment banker caught in a financial scandal.
While many will welcome a more intelligent cinematic portrayal of the traditionally male-dominated financial and legal world, it seems a pertinent time to ask whether life in London’s Square Mile (and the broader sectors it represents) has really changed – or are its problems just better disguised?
The numbers demonstrate glacial progress. In finance, only 14 per cent of executive committees are female. Half of UK solicitors aged 50 or under are women, but they make up less than 28 per cent of partners. Meanwhile, women in finance and insurance earn up to 40 per cent less than their male counterparts on average.
Sexism is still prevalent; in a recent report from law firm Slater and Gordon, women reported being asked to wear high heels, shorter skirts and more makeup to look ‘sexier’ and ‘more appealing’ in client meetings.
Sarah (not her real name) left her position as a lawyer last year because she was “fed up” with the “unfair” reward practices. She was paid less than a male colleague who qualified a year earlier and was in a similar role. “There was no rhyme or reason for the pay structure. It was more about how you got on with the people who decided how much you got paid,” she says. “I think it also boils down to women not really liking to be confrontational about those things, whereas guys are prepared to shout about getting a pay rise.”
Seema Kavi, who works in finance, says that although she has faced stereotypical attitudes – such as clients assuming she was there to pour the tea – the treatment of women is getting better: “Things have improved, but attitudes take a long time to change. The idea of the ‘old boys’ network’ puts a lot of women off.” Many finance and legal firms are actively working to recruit more women, and support progression. TSB, for instance, has a higher than average number of women in leadership roles: they make up 42 per cent of senior managers and 38 per cent of its executive committee.
At PwC, 42 per cent of the executive board is female, which sets a “really clear tone from the top”, says Laura Hinton, head of people and an executive board member. “There is far more appreciation of the value women bring to the workplace. A more balanced working environment drives better performance.”
But forward-thinking firms still struggle to recruit women. “They are more loyal and less likely to be looking around for new jobs, so it’s easier to find men,” says Hinton. A lack of role models also perpetuates the cycle; those at middle-manager level assume they can’t break the glass ceiling.
“Some of it might be down to the choices women are making – wanting to be at home – but I think there is a perception that you can’t be senior, successful, on the board, balance that with more flexibility and bring up children at the same time. But it can be done – if more flexibility is offered,” says Hinton.
Helena Morrissey, former chief executive of Newton Investment Management and co-founder of campaign group the 30% Club, says: “Most people would agree that we no longer have overt sexism in the way that we did 30 years ago. Even if it’s just because of legislation, on a basic level things have improved. The question is ‘how much?’ and whether women still feel less comfortable being themselves.”
Even prominent campaigners such as Morrissey aren’t immune to discrimination. At Newton, she says a female employee was sent on behalf of two male colleagues to tell her “they didn’t approve of working mothers”. “I don’t think I was alone – I learned not to regard it as personal,” she says.
Most commentators agree that, in investment banking and other highly charged environments, sexist behaviour is better disguised but barely less prevalent than in the past. When the artist Grayson Perry studied overtly male workplaces for his recent Channel 4 series, he found bankers to be more gender biased than cage fighters. “If a guy roars past you in a white van and shouts ‘Hello darling, show us ya tits!’ that’s an easy spot, but I think the guys in the higher echelons of power in banking are operating in just as much of a gender-biased way,” he told the Guardian.
Pregnancy discrimination is also an issue; employers in the finance sector were most likely to make pregnant women redundant (13 per cent), and 8 per cent of mothers in the industry were so poorly treated they felt they had to leave, according to the EHRC. In April, Goldman Sachs settled a case with a London-based female vice president whose salary was cut by more than £60,000 when she became pregnant.
“Businesses need to focus on not ‘leaking talent’ – on making sure that, at the crucial points when people are starting to have families and make that decisive jump to management, they don’t lose these people,” says Oliver Black, director of My Family Care. “If you help them over this hurdle, you will have a broader talent pipeline that includes more women.”
Changing workplace cultures is easy to say, but hard to do, says Morrissey. “It’s very much about how people behave towards each other. And that’s hard to engineer; people are the products of their life and shaped by history and experience. Sending them on a day-long training course is not going to undo their behaviours.”
But women are hopeful that the City’s gender gap will eventually close. “I feel positive about it,” says Hinton. “We have moved a huge amount in the last few years. Closing the gender pay gap makes business sense as well as being the right thing to do.”
Morrissey is also optimistic, but only sees the disparity being resolved alongside a broader societal shift. “In Sweden, they are trying to create a society that is truly equal. And although we have lot of differences in the UK, it is important to show that it is a shared responsibility,” she says.