Socio-economic diversity in the financial services

The Bridge Group has collected data from eight major employers in the financial services sector resulting in a new report being published. This led to the creation of an independent task force, commissioned by HM Treasury and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and run by the City of London Corporation, which will focus particularly on boosting representation at the top of these sectors.

Key report findings include:

• Respondents were deeply unrepresentative by socio-economic background. 51% of respondents at all levels of seniority were from a higher socio-economic background (as defined by parental occupation). This compares with 33% of the wider working population. In considering school type, 16% of the survey respondents attended an independent school - over double the national figure of 7.2%.

• Among junior employees 47% were from a higher socio-economic background by parental occupation; and 11% were educated at an independent school. For senior level employees (senior manager and above), this rises to 89% and 25% respectively.

• Just under half (42.7%) of senior roles were occupied by White males who attended an independent or selective state school.

• Employees from lower socio-economic backgrounds took 25% longer to progress through grades. This ‘progression gap’ increases to 32% when considering those from lower socio-economic backgrounds who also identify as Black.

• This ‘progression gap’ cannot be explained by performance. There was no statistical evidence to link performance with socio-economic background.

• Those from lower socio-economic backgrounds frequently expressed that they waste energy in assimilating to dominant higher socio-economic cultures. This is likely to have serious implications for individual and organisational productivity, and wellbeing.

Follow this link to view the report and report launch webinar.