Sexism in the City

Treasury Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 12 Jul 2023 Closed: 28 May 2024 Parliament page
The Treasury Committee is examining the barriers faced by women in financial services and the progress made in removing gender pay gaps. The MPs will explore what role firms, the Government and regulators should play in combatting sexual harassment and misogyny. The Committee will evaluate the progress on implementing the … Read more
17 Recommendations
19 Conclusions
1 Report
6 Letters
4 Events
Activity timeline 12 events
23 May
2024
Correspondence
14 May
2024
Report published
8 Mar
2024
Report published
27 Feb
2024
Correspondence
27 Feb
2024
Correspondence
27 Feb
2024
Correspondence
27 Feb
2024
Correspondence
27 Feb
2024
Correspondence
17 Jan
2024
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Thatcher Room, Portcullis House
13 Dec
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Wilson Room, Portcullis House
15 Nov
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Thatcher Room, Portcullis House
17 Oct
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Sixth Report - Sexism in the City HC 240 8 Mar 2024 36 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
12 results
Clear
2 Conclusion Rejected
Sixth Report - Sexism in the City
Progress on female representation in senior financial services roles remains too slow and patchy.
There have been some positive signs of improvement in the senior representation of women in some firms and sectors within financial services since 2018. We commend both the Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England for leading by example … Read more
Government Response
The government agreed that progress is slow but rejected expanding the scope of the Women in Finance Charter, citing increased burden on firms. It stated it would continue to encourage signatories and engage with them to explore other ways to improve progress.
HM Treasury
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3 Conclusion Rejected
Sixth Report - Sexism in the City
Extend the scope of the Women in Finance Charter to drive more meaningful change.
The Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter has played an important role in driving the conversation on gender diversity and increasing accountability for signatory firms. Even so, progress on increasing female representation has been too slow. We believe that the scope … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees that a strong female talent pipeline is key but rejects extending the scope of the Women in Finance Charter, arguing it would increase the burden on firms and potentially deter new signatories. It will, however, explore other means to gather insights.
HM Treasury
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4 Conclusion Rejected
Sixth Report - Sexism in the City
Extend the Women in Finance Charter to cover female representation across all seniority levels.
In particular, the focus of the Charter on female representation at just the senior management level is too narrow. There needs to be greater focus on ensuring there is a pipeline of female talent to support long-lasting, sustainable improvement in … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees on the importance of a female talent pipeline but rejects extending the Women in Finance Charter to cover different seniority levels, stating it would increase the burden on firms and potentially deter new signatories. It plans to seek alternative methods to gather insights.
HM Treasury
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9 Conclusion Rejected
Sixth Report - Sexism in the City
Maternity leave and childcare responsibilities remain significant barriers for women in finance.
It is clear that maternity remains a significant barrier to women in financial services, with too many women leaving the industry after having children. We have heard that increased availability and take-up of paternity leave and shared parental leave by … Read more
Government Response
HM Treasury notes it previously consulted on requiring large employers to publish family-friendly policies but concluded against a 'one-size-fits-all' approach, effectively rejecting mandatory transparency. The PRA and FCA acknowledge the importance of parental leave but defer broader transparency questions to the government.
HM Treasury
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10 Recommendation Rejected
Sixth Report - Sexism in the City
Encourage financial firms to equalise parental leave and publish policies, boosting uptake by men.
We recommend that the Government and regulators encourage all firms to consider equalising their offer of parental leave for men and women, and to actively encourage more men to take it up. We also recommend that the Government and regulators … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the importance of fathers' roles and points to existing shared parental leave provisions. However, it explicitly rejects encouraging firms to be transparent by publishing parental leave policies, citing concerns about a 'one-size-fits-all' approach and burden on employers.
HM Treasury
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13 Recommendation Rejected
Sixth Report - Sexism in the City
Encourage firms to undertake equality impact assessments on flexible working policies.
We recommend that the Government and regulators encourage firms to undertake equality impact assessments on their flexible working policies and the interaction with diversity and inclusion within their firm.
Government Response
The government explicitly rejects the recommendation to encourage firms to undertake equality impact assessments on their flexible working policies, stating it has not assessed their impact and has no plans to require them.
HM Treasury
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17 Conclusion Rejected
Sixth Report - Sexism in the City
Financial services sector has the UK's largest and slowest-closing gender pay gap.
The financial services sector is well paid compared to many other industries, but it has the largest gender pay gap of any sector in the UK economy and that pay gap is reducing at such a glacial pace that it … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees reporting alone is insufficient but believes it is too soon to change requirements and rejects the idea of mandatory action plans, arguing they would be unfair, ineffective, and burdensome for businesses.
HM Treasury
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19 Conclusion Rejected
Sixth Report - Sexism in the City
Gender pay gap reporting fails to incentivise action for reducing large pay gaps.
Gender pay gap reporting has increased transparency around pay gaps, but it has not incentivised firms to take action to reduce pay gaps in the way that had been hoped and we are concerned by the evidence we heard that … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees reporting alone is insufficient but believes it is too soon to change requirements and rejects the idea of mandatory action plans, arguing they would be unfair, ineffective, and burdensome for businesses.
HM Treasury
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20 Recommendation Rejected
Sixth Report - Sexism in the City
Strengthen pay gap reporting regulations for firms with large gaps and reduce reporting threshold.
We therefore recommend that the Government strengthens the pay gap reporting regulations to incentivise firms to make faster progress. Specifically, we recommend it be made mandatory for firms with a pay or bonus gap above a certain threshold to publish … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects both recommendations to strengthen pay gap reporting. It states it is too soon to make changes and argues that mandatory action plans for firms with high gaps would be unfair, ineffective, and burdensome, while reducing the reporting threshold to 50 employees poses statistical and practical challenges.
HM Treasury
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21 Conclusion Rejected
Sixth Report - Sexism in the City
Amend pay gap reporting guidance to include partners' remuneration and increase granularity.
We repeat our predecessor Committee’s recommendations that the Government considers amending the pay gap reporting guidance so that partners’ remuneration is included, and that the granularity of pay gap reporting be increased to provide more clarity around where pay gaps … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects amending pay gap reporting regulations to include partners' remuneration or increase granularity, preferring that further analysis remains voluntary. It notes that many firms already voluntarily publish partner data and that new guidance offers recommendations for additional, voluntary calculations.
HM Treasury
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22 Recommendation Rejected
Sixth Report - Sexism in the City
Lack of pay transparency exacerbates and perpetuates gender pay gaps
We have heard compelling evidence that a lack of pay transparency, particularly at the recruitment stage, exacerbates and perpetuates gender pay gaps. It is vital that employees are paid based on their experience, skills and value to an organisation, rather … Read more
Government Response
The government rejected moving directly to legislation for pay transparency, explaining it would not allow sufficient time for organisations to adjust, could cause backlash, and that it wants to learn from the experiences of other countries before committing to such a measure.
HM Treasury
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23 Recommendation Rejected
Sixth Report - Sexism in the City
Introduce legislation to mandate salary bands on job adverts and ban salary history requests
While we recognise the Government’s plans for a pay transparency pilot as a first step to exploring these issues, we are concerned by the lack of progress since the pilot was announced two years ago. Given the very clear case … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects legislating to mandate salary band inclusion in job advertisements and ban salary history requests, stating it is not appropriate at this time due to potential employer difficulties, risk of backlash, and unknown negative impacts, preferring to learn from other countries' experiences first.
HM Treasury
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Government Response AI assessment · 36 of 17 classified
Accepted 8
Accepted in Part 2
Acknowledged 6
Deferred 8
Rejected 12
Total 17 recs + 19 conclusions
Correspondence 6 letters
23 May 2024 To committee Letter from the Minister for Women - Dame Harriett Baldwin MP
Parliament page
27 Feb 2024 To committee Letter from the Financial Conduct Authority, relating to non-financial misconduct, dated 6 February 2024
Parliament page
27 Feb 2024 To committee Letter from Baroness Vere to the Chair, relating to the 'Sexism in the City' inquiry, dated 7 February 2024
Parliament page
27 Feb 2024 To committee Letter from the Chair to Baroness Vere, relating to the 'Sexism in the City' inquiry, dated 30 January 2024
Parliament page
27 Feb 2024 To committee Letter from Maria Caulfield MP to the Chair, relating to the 'Sexism in the City' inquiry, dated 12 February 2024
Parliament page
27 Feb 2024 To committee Letter from the Chair to Maria Caulfield MP, relating to the 'Sexism in the City' inquiry, dated 30 January 2024
Parliament page