24th November, 2020

The independent taskforce, will focus on increasing representation at senior levels. The taskforce was officially launched by the City of London Corporation on Tuesday, alongside new research authored by the Bridge Group.

This research reports that almost nine in ten senior roles in financial services are held by people from higher socio-economic backgrounds (as defined by parental occupation at 14). This compares with a third of the UK working population as a whole.

The data was drawn from eight major employers in the financial services sector; Santander, Blackrock, Bank of England, Financial Conduct Authority, Legal & General Investment Management, Payment Systems Regulator, First Sentier Investors and one anonymous.

During the launch, panellists from the financial sector were unified in their support for change.  One commented that companies need to be receptive to change and not expect employees to fit in with existing culture. Another mentioned an unintentional  'Cycle of inequality'  starting with a senior sponsor being more likely to sponsor an employee from a similar background. 

Read the full report