Support grows among MPs for new charter for women in business

Winners of the Forward Ladies Awards at the Royal Armouries in Leeds. The group is highlighting the significant role played by women in business. Picture Jonathan Gawthorpe 7th December 2018.

SUPPORT is growing among MPs for a new charter that would link executive pay to a company’s ability to deliver gender equality.

The AAT - Association of Accounting Technicians - said that most MPs have backed a recommendation to extend the “Women in Finance Charter” to cover all businesses in the UK.

The charter, which officially launched in 2016, calls on financial services firms to take a number of steps to promote gender equality. The charter urges firms to have a named senior executive responsible and accountable for gender diversity and inclusion. It also calls on firms to set internal targets for gender diversity in senior management positions and publish its progress annually.

The charter calls on firms to ensure the pay of the senior executive team is linked to delivery against these internal targets on gender diversity. Signed by more than 300 financial services firms, including AAT, its impact remains limited to the finance sector