{"id":1862,"date":"2025-06-06T07:00:05","date_gmt":"2025-06-06T06:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.redstarwealth.co.uk\/blog\/?p=1862"},"modified":"2025-06-04T18:23:17","modified_gmt":"2025-06-04T17:23:17","slug":"under-representation-of-women-in-financial-services","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.redstarwealth.co.uk\/blog\/under-representation-of-women-in-financial-services\/","title":{"rendered":"Under-representation of Women in Financial Services"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Women\u2019s Wealth Alliance (WWA) is conducting a survey to find out more about women\u2019s experiences working in financial services.<\/p>\n

The Women\u2019s Wealth Alliance (WWA)<\/h2>\n

The WWA has been formed as a working group of the Consumer Duty Alliance. They are calling on women working in UK financial services to participate in a survey to help provide a clear picture of the experiences and career journeys of women working in the wealth sector.<\/p>\n

This research will be managed independently by YouGov and is supported by IBOSS.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the key aims of the Women\u2019s Wealth Alliance is to help attract more women into a career in personal finance and the financial planning role in particular, helping to foster a diverse sector that better reflects the needs and perspectives of clients.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 Vanessa Barnes<\/a>, chairperson of the WWA<\/em><\/p>\n

Their findings will help inform the future work of the WWA to help build effective strategies to create a more diverse sector.<\/p>\n

Lack of Women in Finance<\/h2>\n

FT Adviser<\/a> submitted a Freedom of Information to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and the data gained showed that only 18% of regulated financial advisers in the UK are women, which is only a 2% increase from 2022.<\/p>\n

While this 2% increase is indeed a step in the right direction, some industry professionals have argued that the pace of change is too slow\u2026<\/p>\n

Carla Brown, president of the Personal Finance Society, stated:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile things have moved on, I still regularly speak to women who feel outnumbered and at times overlooked. That said, I have also seen how valued female advisers are by clients\u2014many clients actively seek out female financial planners because they appreciate a different perspective and approach.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Amanda Cassidy, managing director of Quilter Financial Advisers stated that the financial sector had been a \u201cmale-centric occupation\u201d<\/em><\/strong> for years. She also reported that from their research, less female paraplanners displayed an interest in becoming an adviser than their male colleagues.<\/p>\n

Keith Richards, chief executive of the Consumer Duty Alliance, noted:<\/p>\n

\u201cIronically, by publicising the enduring gender gap in financial services and the low percentage of female advisers, we are likely to be further discouraging women to want to enter the profession.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIf instead we focus on increasing the visibility and voice of those women already within the profession, then they become the best catalyst to visibly change perceptions and help to drive further attraction and recruitment of female advisers.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Why Does this Under-representation Exist?<\/h2>\n

The under-representation of women in the financial sector is a complex issue, based on a variety of factors. This includes things like:<\/p>\n