is the uk’s financial services sector still troubled by problems with workforce diversity?

<p>The UK’s financial services sector is a powerhouse of the country’s economy making up 12% of total economic output. According to <a href="https://www.thecityuk.com/research/key-facts-about-uk-financial-and-rel…; target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">research from TheCityUK</a>,  it also provides employment for a staggering 7% of the nation’s workforce.</p>
<p>Despite the pivotal role it plays in both employment growth and stimulating the UK economy, the sector has had persistent problems with workforce diversity, which has established a public image mired by longstanding associations with elitism and sexism.</p>
<p>As a result of this, both the government and financial services companies themselves have worked hard to re-assess recruitment strategies and redefine workforce cultures. Whether it’s been by introducing ground-breaking employee networks or addressing gender inequality with innovative leadership schemes, companies have attempted tackling these issues in many different ways and many will argue that workforces are now much more inclusive and representative.</p>
<p>To get a clearer understanding of how much progress has been made, we asked our <a href="/financial-professional/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Randstad</a> recruiters to give us their thoughts on the rate of change in the sector in a recent survey. Here are the results:</p>
<ul>
<li>78% of Randstad F&amp;P consultants believe diversity is now very important to recruiters in the UKs financial services sector.</li>
<li>71% feel employment diversity has improved significantly during the last 5 years.</li>
<li>28% believe elitism does still exist in the financial services sector but 71% argue that the recruitment landscape is getting much better.</li>
<li>85% of Randstad recruiters stated that their financial services clients have implemented campaigns, policies and initiatives which have successfully improved standards of diversity.</li>
<li>85% of Randstad consultants argue that there is still a strong level of diversity amongst applicants for financial services roles at all levels.</li>
</ul>
<p>From the results, we can see that improving workforce diversity still remains a pressing priority for <a href="/jobs/s-financial-services/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="font-size: 0.875rem;">financial services</a><span style="font-size: 0.875rem;"> companies in the UK and that recruitment initiatives have developed significantly over the years.</span></p>
<p>Although there is still a lot more work to be done, the progress made over the last decade has seen some of the most significant milestones and achievements. <br> Here are some of the most important:</p>
<h3>The Lloyds LGBT Rainbow Network.</h3>
<p>In 2010, Lloyds set up the Rainbow Network to help LGBT staff at the UK bank to connect with one another, share their experiences and raise awareness for important issues.</p>
<p>Within a few months it had 800 members and now boasts more than 3,000 members and supporters thanks to LGBT awareness events and initiatives. <a href="https://twitter.com/LBGRainbow"; target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The active Twitter account</a> has a strong following and the network has helped Lloyds reach number 2 in Stonewall’s top 100 list.</p>
<h3>HSBC and women in leadership</h3>
<p>HSBC aimed to increase the number of senior women in the organisation from 21.4% to 25% by 2013. Using a system of workshops and 360-degree feedback sessions it trained 75 of its European leaders, including 18 CEOs, to understand how they might be unconsciously holding women back from progressing their careers. By 2015, the number of women in senior manager roles had risen to 29%, and <a href="http://www.recruiter.co.uk/news/2015/11/hsbc-demands-gender-equality-sh…; target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">HSBC now plans to have a 50/50 gender split in senior management roles</a>.</p>
<h3>Allianz develops disability awareness.</h3>
<p>Allianz SE, the global insurance giant which employs more than 4,600 people in the UK, launched the <a href="https://www.allianz.com/en/about_us/strategy_values/diversity/allabilit…; target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">AllAbility initiative</a> to create job opportunities for disabled professionals in 2014.</p>
<p>AllAbility focused on recruitment, accessibility and culture and ensured Allianz began pro-actively searching for people with disabilities and providing special equipment, mentorship and flexible working in the workplace.</p>
<p>The company now holds a biannual ‘One Day at Allianz’ event for students and graduates with disabilities to experience the culture, as well as a yearly ‘Awareness Day’ and regular events outside work.</p>
<h3>Morgan Stanley stands up for returning mothers.</h3>
<p>One of the major problems affecting people who have taken an extended break from the workplace is the difficulty they find in resuming their careers, especially for women returning after maternity leave.</p>
<p>Morgan Stanley launched its <a href="http://www.morganstanley.com/people-opportunities/return-to-work"; target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Return to Work program</a> in 2014 to tackle this issue and selected 19 people to undertake a 12-week internship at its London offices. Of those 19 interns, 13 were offered jobs in senior positions after completing the programme, and the international bank has since repeated the initiative in 6 cities in the US, Europe and Asia.</p>
<p>Morgan Stanley has also introduced maternity coaching and support systems for returnees and their managers in order to assist women through the leave process. This has helped women re-build their confidence in the workplace after childbirth and provides mentoring and a period of 150 hours of free, back-up childcare cover too.</p>
<h3>Name-blind CVs to boost equality.</h3>
<p>In 2015, a ground-breaking report revealed that people with white-sounding names were nearly twice as likely to progress through the recruitment process than people with identical qualifications whose names were more ethnic-sounding.</p>
<p>To tackle this problem, the former Prime Minister, David Cameron, introduced name-blind recruitment for every job in the civil service below senior level. The measure was also followed by many other graduate recruiters including major financial institutions such as HSBC, Deloitte and Virgin Money, as well as local government.</p>
<p>The move was backed by the CIPD, which <a href="https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/culture/behaviour/recruitment-report&q…; target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">published a report into behavioural science</a> and its application to the recruitment process, with calls to also remove ages from the recruitment process.</p>