Lucy HadrillSheree Howard (Executive Director of Risk and Compliance Oversight at the FCA) has delivered a speech at the PIMFA Women’s symposium conference on investing in women in financial services, both as employees and investors in the sector.
Building on the FCA’s work on DEI, Ms Howard reiterated that firms which attract and retain a diverse workforce are best at equipping themselves to know how to serve a diverse customer base. However, she acknowledged the underrepresentation of women working in financial services and emphasised the importance of making sure the right culture exists so that enough female talent is attracted at the start of a career, promoted on merit not hard work, and retained in the industry whatever their life choices. Ms Howard referenced the recent Sexism in the City inquiry and said that one factor in particular that deters women from pursuing financial services careers is the high-profile cases of non-financial misconduct.
The speech touched on the gender wealth gap and the fact that women in financial services have on average just one third of the pension wealth of men at retirement. It also mentioned the FCA’s latest Financial Lives Survey which shows that more women than men are struggling to cope with the cost of living.
Ms Howard also spoke about women as investors and the barriers to investing they face. Whilst the FCA’s Advice Guidance Boundary review and thematic work on investments advice will help industry to better support investors, including women, those in the savings, retirement income and advisory markets need to ensure they are genuinely considering the specific needs of women in relation to pensions, savings and investment products.
