Total workforce vs leadership positions
The share of women in the total workforce of four out of the five largest banks decreased in recent years, albeit slightly. At HSBC, for instance, the share of female employees decreased 0.2 percent between 2018 and 2021. The same tendency can be seen at Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays, and Standard Chartered. The share of women in senior and leadership positions, however, has increased. At HSBC, there were almost four percent more women in senior leadership positions in 2021 than in 2018. At Lloyds Banking Group, there were significantly more female senior managers, board members, and executive committee members in 2021 than a few years ago. This gender distribution trend can certainly be seen as an improvement, considering that the share of women in the total workforce of the largest UK banks is on average 53 percent, while leadership positions are still predominantly filled by men.
Gender pay gaps
Based on a 2017 legislation, all companies operating in the United Kingdom with 250 or more employees must provide annual gender pay gap data. This legislation led to more transparency in terms of gender inequality, and it also made it clear that the financial sector has the largest median gender pay gap in the UK. On the positive side, this legislation could be one of the reasons for a slow but steady progress in closing the gender pay gap at the largest UK banks. In 2021, the mean gender pay gap was on average approximately 31 percent, while the median gender pay gap stood at 32.6 percent.
