Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Women working in City paid 60% less than men

Wednesday 08 April 2009 19:00 EDT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Harriet Harman, the minister for Women, has renewed her attack on the financial industry, describing it as a "breeding ground for discrimination", after it emerged that women working in the City were being paid as much as 60 per cent less than their male counterparts.

Men in the sector are also receiving nearly 80 per cent more in perks and bonuses, according to figures from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). Overall, women working in the financial services sector are paid more than £40,000 less each year, about twice the disparity that exists in the economy as a whole. Female fund managers, stock brokers and futures traders were found to be suffering from the biggest pay gap of about 60 per cent.

A dearth of women working in head offices, a relative lack of qualifications and their continuing domination of lower status roles were to blame, the research found. "This proves that the finance sector is a breeding ground for discrimination and unfairness and I look forward to the Commission's proposals for action," Ms Harman said. "This is further evidence of the need for the tough new measures to tackle the gender pay gap." Trevor Phillips, the head of the EHRC, said the Government should force more companies to reveal their pay policies. "The figures we're releasing today are shocking and indicate just how serious the pay gap has become in the financial sector," he said. "Women do not have equal status or equal rewards."

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in