Women in Finance Time for Change 2
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1 THE FINANCE SECTOR Women in Finance Time for Change 2 Contents Introduction from Jo Sellick 3 Women in finance: the state of play today 5 A Q&A with Nives Feely, Finance Director at Sellick Partnership 9 Breaking the glass ceiling: five prominent women in finance 13 Changing careers and education - what’s holding women back in the finance sector? 17 The view from Sellick Partnership 20 Findings from Sellick Partnership’s ‘Gender Diversity in Business’ survey 23 About Sellick Partnership Finance 25 Sellick Partnership special report - Women in Finance: Time for Change 3 INTRODUCTION FROM JO SELLICK Sellick Partnership special report - Women in Finance: Time for Change Introduction from Jo Sellick 4 Jo Sellick Managing Director Introduction from Jo Sellick With over 20 years’ experience within finance and encouraging women into finance related roles, a look at accountancy recruitment, I have noticed significant the future of women in the finance sector, and a Q&A with changes to the way in which the profession recruits and our own Finance Director, Nives Feely. retains talent. During Sellick Partnership’s 14 year tenure as market leaders in the industry, we have experienced As strength returns to the economy, it is excellent to see technological advancements, changes to industry new start-ups succeed throughout the UK. Encouragingly, legislation and the global economic crisis – all of which it appears that equal pay for men and women, flexible have directly impacted the essential skills required by working and more attractive remuneration packages financial professionals in the current climate. are a high priority for new entrepreneurs, to ensure they attract the best talent. Where I am keen to see a shift in One of today’s most pressing topics is the enormous thinking is in the larger and traditionally more ‘corporate’ focus on gender equality within the workplace, which companies that are typically slower to change mind-set continues to receive a significant amount of press and policies. coverage. Numerous initiatives have been implemented to address this issue, including the introduction of gender In the meantime, it’s up to market leaders, influencers and quotas for board positions and gender pay league tables, high profile entrepreneurs to persuade the government which are opening up wider conversations regarding the to take further steps and ensure that gender parity is no positions of both men and women in the workforce. longer just a conversation, but a reality. As our own Board of Directors is 75% female, we are particularly interested in this topic and felt the time was right to cover this issue in more depth in a special report. Throughout the report, we have looked at a broad spectrum of areas, such as the role of education in initiatives have been implemented to address this issue, including the introduction of gender quotas for board positions and gender pay league tables, which are opening up wider conversations regarding the positions of both men and women in the workforce Sellick Partnership special report - Women in Finance: Time for Change 5 WOMEN IN FINANCE: THE STATE OF PLAY TODAY Sellick Partnership special report - Women in Finance: Time for Change Women in finance: the state of play today 6 Women in finance: the state of play today The finance industry has experienced a Boardroom problems period of significant change over the last While the number of females employed by top accountancy firms is on the rise, research has highlighted few years, as the country slowly emerges a stark difference when it comes to the gender gap in from the one of the worst economic the top positions. An exclusive study by the Financial declines in history. The recent upturn Times earlier this year revealed that, while there is a near 50/50 split in overall staff numbers in the City, just 19.5 has had a knock-on effect in terms of per cent of senior roles across top employers are held by employment as companies become women. The study saw the publication gather data from increasingly confident about their financial more than 30 of the City’s top banking, insurance, asset futures, and place greater emphasis on management and professional services companies over a six month period, and revealed - perhaps unsurprisingly - recruiting the best talent. that banking is the most notorious for so-called male bias. Research has also pointed to a gender imbalance in The role of women in the finance sector continues to be top positions. At the Big Four accountancy firms in the of great importance to the development of the industry as UK, there is an average of only 16 per cent of partner a whole. However, with the number of females employed positions held by women - and this statistic is backed at senior levels in financial businesses still considerably up by previous research. A McKinsey Study for the lower than it should be, there is still a long way to go until 30% Club, which aims to ensure 30 per cent of jobs at men and women can compete on an even playing ground boardroom level are made up by women, revealed that for job opportunities. men are three times more likely to become a partner at a City accountancy firm, and while this is considerably What’s more, the increasing importance of technology better than the legal sector (where men are ten times within the financial sector, along with the evolving more likely), it proves there is still a long way to go. working day - through the introduction of flexible hours and remote working - has played a significant role in Nives Feely, Finance Director at Sellick Partnership, attracting more women, particularly those with families, to agrees that it appears to be more difficult for women to a previously male-dominated arena. achieve senior positions in finance: “In my experience there are the same number of women now as before at As market-leaders within financial and accountancy entry level. It is when you move further up the ladder recruitment, Sellick Partnership understands the current that it becomes a completely different field. At entry, it is demands and challenges the sector faces and believe probably about a 50/50 or 60/40 men to women split, but women have a huge role to play in the future of the the further up the ladder you go, then you start getting to industry. 70/30, and beyond.” So, let’s take a closer look at the current situation for women in finance. Sellick Partnership special report - Women in Finance: Time for Change Women in finance: the state of play today 7 Progress The current situation for women who want to break into the finance sector remains challenging, but significant progress has been made in recent years. Elaine Masters, Licensed Insolvency Practitioner for Altrincham-based ClearDebt, who joined a national firm as a graduate The industry has come on trainee in December 1987 has noticed a lot of change in in leaps and bounds when the role of women over the past 25 years. it comes to challenging the stereotype “When I joined the Insolvency profession, it was almost entirely male dominated; I remember going out on sites to foundries in the Black Country where they didn’t even have a woman’s toilet on site! It was also hard to be taken seriously and there were occasions when older men resented authority conferred by the role,” Ms Masters remarked. She added: “There have been changes in the last 25-plus years in that there are now more women in key positions, plus the fact that the industry has changed too due to changes in the law and in the industry in the UK - very little of the work is now done on site and is more office based.” What’s more, the industry has come on in leaps and bounds when it comes to challenging the stereotype that a successful senior financial services executive is someone who is willing to work long hours, and is “dominating and hierarchical towards employees”. According to international management consulting firm Oliver Wyman, most finance companies have invested time, money and senior management energy in changing perceptions about gender in the finance industry. This has been achieved through well-established women’s networks, provide targeted training and mentoring for female employees, as well as providing maternity and flexible working options that sometimes exceed statutory requirements. The creation of the 30% Club has also signalled progress within the financial services sector. While the success of introducing quotas is still questioned by many critics, there is one thing for certain: employers that offer flexible working conditions are generally rewarded by loyalty from their female employees. Sellick Partnership special report - Women in Finance: Time for Change Women in finance: the state of play today 8 A long way to go “You can have your career, but also your family and One of the major factors proving there is still an your home life, and it is not a one-or-the-other-choice. If undeniable need for progress for women in finance is businesses - or universities and schools - could push that, the existing pay gap, particularly within the accountancy and do more from a mentoring point of view, it will create profession. The latest salary survey from the ICAEW and confidence and encourage people to promote themselves Stott & May revealed that male chartered accountants in and succeed in their career.” business earn an average salary of £100,900, compared with women who earn an average of £63,900 - a gap that has increased by 5.4 per cent since 2014. According to the survey, women over 45 saw their salaries drop Strong female leaders should be by £6,500 on average from last year, despite men in the encouraged to go out and speak same age group reporting a rise of up to £4,200.