Did you know, the financial services sector has the worst gender pay gap in the UK: 28%. Women earn just over 60p for every pound a man makes. The pensions industry exists to provide for people in their old age, yet it's failing to provide fairly for its own workers.
Part of the issue is that women are being passed over for promotion. Julia Ridger, Financial Services Director at Smith & Williamson, says a number of older male leaders in the industry "still have tunnel vision" on the subject, meaning it may be another 10-15 years before women are truly considered equally for senior roles.
I have been thinking more and more about equality in the pensions sector and as a small business, we have to listen to our clients and candidates and provide short-term fixes to find long-term solutions.
I can only comment on my business world, recruitment in the pensions and legal sector, which historically has been male-dominated. I would say it was only 5-6 years ago that we started to see the first signs of gender equality when our clients started to request intel on the 'availability of females' to undertake jobs, usually an initiative being driven by HR.
My question is: in today's world, is this correct? I've often pushed back, taking into account my REC training and code of conduct in finding the best person for the job. I am seeing a new trend among candidates registering for a new role: 45+ men feeling their gender is inhibiting their promotional chances with firms needing to demonstrate gender equality.
From a discussion with one of our key clients, we agreed that I should put the best person forward to match the job requirements; however, my client explained they want to see CVs for up-and-coming stars of the future, preferably females, who they want to invest time in, nurture and develop to deliver true gender equality for the future.
There are great men and women in our industries, and I am confident that over the next decade we will see a new generation of both sexes who work collaboratively and not against each other, so there are opportunities for all.