Fri, Jul 8, 2016

The Time is NOW: Extending the Women Network

On 3 March 2016 Duff & Phelps launched the London branch of the firm’s Network of Women with an inaugural event for 50 colleagues at The Shard.

Women’s networks have become more and more prevalent in the financial services sector as a way to remedy the historic male dominance of the field. It would be a great achievement for the existence of such networks to be obsolete in the future, but the current facts and figures clearly provide evidence of their absolute necessity in today’s business world.

With 47% of the UK workforce now being women, should there be a concern over a 3% gender disparity? Perhaps not. However if we turn a closer eye to the financial sector, figures reveal that women working full time earn 55% less annual average gross salary than their male colleagues.

2017 mandatory gender pay gap reporting together with not-so-high-profile, but equally important, concerns over sexual discrimination, work-life balance, and childcare, are all issues that women’s networks aim to raise greater awareness around and provide solutions for in the future.

The Duff & Phelps Network of Women Committee in London is planning a series of internal and client events for 2016. The network is keen to support other businesses with similar goals of achieving greater diversity in the work place. We would welcome any contact from clients who are interested in getting involved.