Leadership & Progression:
Boosting socio-economic diversity at senior levels

In 2020, HM Treasury and BEIS have commissioned CoLC to lead an independent taskforce. The taskforce aims to boost socio-economic diversity at senior levels across UK financial and professional services (FPS). This taskforce has been led by evidence. Research commissioned by the CoLC shows that employees from lower socio-economic backgrounds progress 25% slower than peers, with no link to performance. These employees are exhausted by efforts to conform to dominant cultures, impacting individual performance. This increases to 32% when considering those from lower socio-economic backgrounds who also identify as Black”. Given the inequalities exposed by Covid-19 and Black Lives Matter, it is important to review the intersections that exist between characteristics.

The taskforce will be led by Catherine McGuinness, and three Co-Chairs: Alderman Vincent Keaveny, Sandra Wallace and Andy Haldane. There are three workstreams: 1) leading an industry consultation and roadmap on how government, regulators and sector bodies can incentivise employer action, 2) development of a peer network for financial services, focusing specifically on progression, a safe space to share best practice / benchmark against sector peers and; 3) productivity analysis, to build the business case for socio-economic diversity at senior levels. These are supported by delivery partners: Deloitte, MyKindaFuture and PwC. A group of 30 cross-sector leaders from FPS were announced on 22^nd March (drawn from 78 written expressions of interest). An additional six regulators were appointed as observers on workstream #1.

The work of this taskforce and its focus on progression is a core part of CoLC’s ten-year social mobility strategy

To read more about the taskforce and research download the City of London Corporation brochure