In the UK, women are four times less likely than men to be among the top 1% of earners in financial and professional services, according to analysis by the London School of Economics. And despite decades of efforts to narrow the gender gap in pay and career advancement, it has widened slightly since before the pandemic.
In short
Women occupy 19.4% of the top 1% of positions in finance and professional services, a slight decline from the three-year pre-Covid average of 19.7%.
However, although still far from equal, the share of women in the top 10% of positions was higher, at 28.3%, and showed signs of progress, increasing by 2.5%. percentage points over the period.
The LSE analysis, which draws on the UK’s main survey of economic activity, the Quarterly Labor Force Survey (QLFS), from January 2017 to June 2023, also revealed some rebalancing in terms of seniority. Women now make up 37% of senior executives and directors in professional services and finance, roughly the same percentage as full-time female employees.
Why hasn’t gender equality improved more?
The persistent seniority gap between men and women, which widens as one moves closer to the top of the career ladder, suggests that companies are working hard to narrow it to reduce it. well-documented benefits it provides access to talent and more diverse thinking – have proven insufficient.
The reasons behind this phenomenon are complex, including a career penalty for mothers but not for fathers, biases – whether blatant or unconscious – and broader societal factors that disadvantage women’s careers, such as higher average load household chores and child and elder care responsibilities.
These factors have proven persistent for many years. In a way, the question to ask is therefore why would be have they improved, in the absence of major changes in attitudes or behavior?
Indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic may have set back gender equality, as layoffs disproportionately affected women, while companies tend to defund diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs when business conditions are difficult. In the United States, this situation has been aggravated by a conservative reaction against affirmative actionoften by legal means.
“We’re going backwards, but I’m not surprised. For progress to be made, there needs to be a greater shift toward recognizing that diversity is good for business. There is also a need to invest heavily in developing managers to become inclusive leaders, recognizing that leading diverse teams is a skill. Without it, I will be giving the same quote in 10 years,” said Dr Grace Lordan, founding director of The Inclusion Initiative at LSE and associate professor in the Department of Psychological and Behavioral Sciences.
One might have expected that hybrid working favor working mothersbut there is evidence that people who work remotely experience a career disadvantage compared to those who come to the office, while orders to return to the office have started push moms out of work.
And after?
The trend toward more equal gender representation in mid-level positions and among the top 10% of earners is encouraging, particularly in relatively male-dominated sectors like finance and professional services.
It would be reasonable to expect an impact on the highest and highest paid positions over the coming decade, simply because more women will have gained the experience necessary to be considered.
However, the trend persists whereby women’s chances of progression decrease with each level of seniority. Until this dynamic changes, the gap will remain considerable.
