There simply aren't enough women in senior decision-making positions
Only 4% of FTSE 250 companies have female CEOs, and only 7% have female CFOs. The UK economy is dependent on us better utilising the talent of women, capitalising on the wealth of skill and talent that women leaders can bring to our top companies and to all levels of political and public life. We can't afford not to let half of our population realise their potential.
The Treasury Committee has an ongoing inquiry on women in finance. We're looking at why there are fewer women than men in the boardroom, what the barriers are to women entering and progressing in the financial services industry, and what the value is to financial firms of having a greater gender balance across all job grades and functions.
When Jayne-Anne Gadhia, the CEO of Virgin Money, gave evidence to the committee, she told us that one of the ways to improve the situation was role modelling. A group of schoolgirls told her that they want to think they can become the CEO of a business or the Prime Minister, but they needed to see somebody who has done it to realise that they can do it too.
The Women in Finance Charter – a pledge for gender balance across financial services – and the requirement for organisations with more than 250 employees to publish the difference between what they pay men and women are steps in the right direction to increasing the number of women in leadership roles.
Nicky Morgan is Conservative MP for Loughborough and chair of the Treasury Committee
