Bank of England Shortlist for Chief Economist Had More Women Than Men
The Bank of England's shortlist for a new chief economist had more women than men—and a man got the job.
(Bloomberg) -- The Bank of England’s shortlist for its chief economist role featured more women then men, a revelation that will reignite debate over a lack of diversity among senior policy makers at the institution.
The nine-person short list for the job included five women and four men, according to figures released under the Freedom of Information act. Just one person on the list were from an ethnic minority. The job went to Huw Pill, a former chief economist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
Pill’s appointment attracted a degree of controversy as it was seen as setback for the BOE’s push for diversity. Just two officials on the rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee -- Catherine Mann and Silvana Tenreyro -- are female.
The BOE has never had a woman serve as governor or chief economist.
The BOE hired Audeliss, a firm that specializes in championing diversity, to to help coordinate the recruitment process. The firm earned 43,000 pounds ($59,000), excluding value added tax, and put forward nine candidates out of the 96 who applied for the role.
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