(Bloomberg) -- There’s still a long way to go before working practices are fair across genders despite flexible working, career breaks and bias training spreading throughout British banking, according to the industry’s most senior women.
“Chief executives come and talk to me voluntarily about their diversity and inclusion practices, all of which is great,” Megan Butler, the Financial Conduct Authority’s director of supervision, told a parliamentary hearing in London on Wednesday. But, “I also receive a steady stream of horrifying whistle blowers that would indicate pockets of truly toxic culture that operate, sometimes, in the same institutions that are coming to tell me about the great initiatives.”
Butler also warned of a “huge tail of financial services firms” that have “even further to come” on gender issues, but receive less attention because they are smaller.
The Bank of England, Yorkshire Building Society, Natixis SA, HSBC Holdings Plc and insurer Aviva Plc were among the organizations declaring at the Treasury Select Committee that they offered career breaks and flexible working to support staff to be parents or carers.
Butler herself took six weeks off at the beginning of the year, while her daughter was studying for exams. “I was embarrassed to talk about it, because I was worried what people might think about commitment,” she said.
Having senior staff set an example by taking leave and working flexibly can be a useful tool to recruit and keep staff, some of the panelists said.
“We need to be mindful that the sector is not as attractive as it was, so anything we can do to restore trust and confidence in the sector is paramount,” said Corinne Carr, a consultant who advises banks on their pay policy.
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