SNP MP call on chancellor for action on gender imbalance in finance

SNP Treasury spokesperson at Westminster Alison Thewliss MP has written to the Chancellor about the continuing lack of women at senior levels in the finance sector.

The letter follows a Treasury Select Committee session at which evidence was presented about the huge gender imbalance in institutions such as the Bank of England, where women are vastly outnumbered, with the problem particularly acute at senior levels of policy and decision-making.

In her letter Alison Thewliss writes: “Demanding diversity in representation is not just equality for the sake of it. If we fail to have women’s voices at senior levels of banking and finance – as is aptly illustrated by the Bank of England statistics – we fail to create policy frameworks that fairly represent our society. Having women occupying senior posts is about socio-economic transformation and paving the way for policy and decision-making processes that are truly representative.’’

The letter comes as the Treasury Select Committee calls for an inquiry into the entry and progress of women in finance.

Commenting, Alison Thewliss MP said: “I want the Chancellor to understand that this is a real problem across the entire sector. It is quite shocking, but not entirely surprising, that even in 2017 there is only one woman on the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England and none on the Financial Policy Committee. How can this situation be tenable in any way? I fully support the calls for an inquiry from the Treasury Select Committee.

“In Scotland, the SNP Government introduced the Gender Representation on Public Boards Bill in June 2017. It sets out a ‘gender representation objective’ for a public board, where 50 per cent of non-executive members should be female, and 50 per cent should be male. It also requires steps to be taken to encourage applications from women. This is the kind of action that we need from Westminster too.”