Today, the Bank publishes our Equality Strategy, and I wanted to share some thoughts on our gender pay gap.
The financial services industry has a persistent problem with gender pay gaps, and sadly the Bank faces a similar challenge with the number of women in senior leadership positions and our pay gap is not where we’d like it to be.
As an organisation with c.85 colleagues and limited recruitment, even small changes in our headcount can cause significant swings in our data. However, we are committed to improving this through every opportunity and are taking strategic action for the long term. We've made a public commitment by signing the Women in Finance Charter, aiming for 40-50% of our senior roles to be held by women by 2026.
Throughout the Bank’s initial four years of operation, we've focused on creating an inclusive workplace culture that enables women, and of course all of our colleagues, to succeed and thrive. This includes flexible working arrangements, inclusive recruitment practices, encouraging female talent, and supporting forums for female investors. Last week we were delighted to be recognised as one of the UK’s top employers in the prestigious Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2025.
These initiatives have provided a strong foundation and, since our launch, 60% of internal promotions have been women. We aim to achieve gender-balanced shortlists for all senior posts, and we've linked our senior management performance and reward framework to progress in this area.
Of course we want to see diversity at all levels, and face challenges in achieving a balanced candidate pool for more junior roles too. Ultimately we’d like to see a fair gender balance across every level within the organisation.
We recognise that one of the most effective ways to attract and retain diverse talent is by creating a flexible and inclusive working environment. Over the last four years, we've developed an approach that has been positively received by teams across the business, reflected in our People Survey results.
In 2024, 82% of our people reported that they are happy with the hours they work. We've now formally embedded this approach by launching our ‘Balance’ guidance to hybrid and flexible working. In fact, earlier this year I advertised a job share for my own Chief People Officer role and was hugely impressed by the calibre of applicants looking for a more flexible approach in a senior leadership role.
As part of our equality strategy development, we value the views of others and shared our report for feedback. Lindsey Millen, Head of Policy & Development with Close the Gap, Scotland’s expert policy advocacy organisation working on women’s labour market participation gave us helpful feedback and advice.
Lindsey commented, “The Bank's transparency about its gender pay gap challenges and the practical steps it's taking to address them reflect a genuine commitment to progress. Their approach to flexible working and focus on internal promotion pathways for women are important foundations for change. We recognise these positive initiatives and encourage the Bank to build on this momentum by setting specific, measurable targets for improvement.
“The financial services sector faces persistent gender equality challenges, which is why we'd like to see the Bank leverage its role as an impact investor to drive change - as an employer, through its investment activity and working with companies in its portfolio. By promoting tools and best practice for businesses and developing its analysis and strategy to advance gender equality, the Bank has an opportunity to demonstrate sector leadership and fulfil the transformative potential outlined in its founding legislation.
“The most effective approach for businesses is to ensure the action they take is tailored to their organisation. A smaller number of targeted actions will have a better chance of success than a broad set of generic commitments.”
Lindsey also noted that, “By being targeted and specific, organisations have a much greater chance of shifting the dial on gender equality. But the first step is for businesses to analyse their data and be honest about what they see.”
Close The Gap offers a wealth of resources for employers, along with guidance and insight papers. Lindsey shared some advice for wider businesses, saying, “We know that businesses that are proactive on gender equality will reap the benefits of this. Our free to use Think Business, Think Equality tool was developed specifically for SMEs and provides personalised feedback and a tailored action plan to help them create positive change for women in their workforce, and in their bottom line.”
Conclusion
In conclusion, while the Bank has made progress in creating an inclusive culture and promoting gender diversity, there is still much work to be done to close the gender pay gap and increase female representation in senior leadership roles. By focusing on specific measures and continuing to challenge ourselves, we can create a more equitable and diverse workplace for everyone. Let's continue to work together to make this vision a reality.
- Kay Smith, Chief People Officer at the Bank
You can read our Equality Strategy in full here.
