Lack of career progression holding woman back from financial services

FINANCIAL services are failing to attract women because of a ‘perceived’ lack of career progression according to a report by PwC.

Two thirds of female millennials (born between 1980 and 1995) don’t believe they will reach a senior level within their organisation, compared to just three in 10 males of the same age range in the industry (according to a smaller sample of around 2,000 men)

Younger women are either leaving the sector, or not entering it in the first place according to the report ‘Female millennials in financial services: strategies for a new era of talent’.

It drew upon interviews with over 8,000 female millennials globally.

The research found that one in five of this generation of women would not work in financial services solely due to the sector’s ‘image’ – with insurance at the bottom of the list.

The number of senior females in the asset management however is making it much more attractive than other areas of finance.

Firms are falling short on diversity and equality policies. Six in ten female millennials said that they aren’t doing enough to encourage diversity and seven in ten said their employer talks about diversity, but without putting equal opportunities policies into practice.

Heather Varley, financial services partner at PwC in Yorkshire said: “At a time when financial services firms are finding it difficult to root out aspects of their culture which could lead to excessive risk-taking or regulatory breaches, attracting more women at all levels of the organisation could provide the catalyst needed for a real shift in attitudes and behaviours.

“It is clear that financial services firms have a way to go to attract and keep hold of this new era of female talent.

“Within this highly networked generation, poor perceptions of current staff can quickly spread and discourage potential recruits.”