Leah Montebello, business reporter
00:07 08 March 2024, updated 11:54 08 March 2024
Sexists and bullies in the City of London operate with “impunity”, a damning report from MPs warned today.
A Treasury select committee has found a “shocking” prevalence of sexual harassment and bullying in the financial industry, saying it is “hindering the progress of women”.
Lawmakers argue that the culture has changed little since the last study was published in 2018.
Evidence submitted to the committee highlights widespread abuse of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) and inadequate whistleblowing procedures.
The report found that companies regularly use legally binding contracts to “cover up” wrongdoing and “fix” problems, but human resources teams put more emphasis on employees’ health. It turns out that there is a tendency to give priority to a company’s reputation.
Lawmakers warn this confirms the commonly held view that male harassers suffer little harm from their actions.
They cite the experience of one woman who said she was forced to resign after reporting to her boss that he had put his hands up her skirt, even though he kept her job.
The report comes weeks after the commission found that taking maternity leave was perceived to be more damaging to a woman’s career than allegations of sexual misconduct by men.
The findings also follow a series of recent scandals, including allegations of sexual harassment and assault by women against fund manager Crispin O’Day and allegations of sexual misconduct at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). .
The committee noted some improvements in the industry, including an increase in the proportion of women in senior roles and a slight narrowing of the average pay gap between men and women, but warned that progress was still too slow. There is.
“As in 2018, the most important issues behind all these issues are those of perpetrator impunity and culture, and the limited progress since 2018 is largely due to the “This may be due to a lack of cultural change,” the report said.
“The era of impunity for perpetrators of sexual harassment and bullying must end now.”
The committee is calling on the government to legislate to ban the use of NDAs in harassment cases and strengthen protection for whistleblowers in sexual harassment cases.
In December, Women’s Minister Kemi Badenoch confirmed the government was considering “sophisticated solutions” to prevent NDA abuse more widely.
Treasury Committee Chair Harriet Baldwin said in a statement: “The UK’s financial services sector is the crown jewel of our economy, admired by the international community and proud to be ahead of the curve. ” he said.
“That’s why I’m frustrated that efforts to combat sexism in our city are moving at a snail’s pace.”
Gwen Rees, founder of campaign group Women in the City, said: “We welcome calls for greater transparency on all issues relating to sexual harassment of women.” It’s hard to believe that, nearly a quarter of the way into the 21st century, this is still happening. ”
Lawmakers also recommended that companies should be banned from asking for salary history to address the gender pay gap.
They also advised that the government should introduce a legal requirement to list salary ranges when advertising jobs.
Currently, only companies with more than 250 employees are required to publish an annual report on the gender pay gap.
Lawmakers said this requirement should be reduced to 50 employees for companies in the financial services sector.
Companies with large gender pay gaps should be required to explain why and publish action plans, the MPs added.