Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, RBS and Virgin Money commit to charter linking executive pay to gender diversity

Virgin-Money-430

Barclays, Capital Credit Union, Columbia Threadneedle, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Virgin Money have committed to a new charter that links executive pay to gender diversity.

The Women in Finance Charter, which is supported by HM Treasury, aims to improve gender balance in the financial services industry.

The charter sets out how to implement the recommendations from the Empowering Productivity review conducted by Jayne-Anne Gadhia, chief executive at Virgin Money.

Organisations that sign up to the charter can set their own internal gender diversity targets and strategy to meet these, in order to ensure that the approach taken is right for the organisation.

Participating organisations must commit to setting targets for gender diversity among their senior management and to linking the pay of senior executives to the delivery of these targets.

Charter signatories must also select one member of their executive team to take responsibility and accountability for gender diversity and inclusion.

The Treasury will publish a list of the firms that have signed up to the charter in three months’ time.

Gadhia (pictured) said: “Our research showed that in 2015, women made up only 14% of executive committees in the financial services sector. Too few women get to the top and this is not just about childcare. Women are leaving because the culture isn’t right.

“It’s very encouraging that a number of major financial services firms have already agreed to implement our recommendations. As a result, the issue will now be addressed in a way the City recognises. Make it public, measure it and report on it. What gets published gets done.

“The social and economic benefits are clear and I look forward to more financial services firms signing up to the charter in due course.”