More roles for women on the boards of UK financial institutions could have made the banking crisis less likely, according to a new report — Women in the City published by the House of Common’s Treasury Select Committee.
The committee found that a lack of female representation in the boardroom has led to a dangerous culture of ‘group-think’, which makes scrutiny of executive decisions less effective as research has shown that people from the same background and similar experience are less likely to challenge each other.
The select committee also pointed out that the finance sector currently fails to utilise the talents of over half of the population, and therefore has substantial scope to improve its structure and governance. Measures to address the long hours culture, working environment and access to flexible working and family-friendly practices are proposed to ensure that women who wish to progress are not held back. Although the report does not call for legislation to enforce gender diversity at board level, it acknowledges the inevitability of such measures if companies are not able to lead and effect change themselves.
You can read the full report published by the Treasury Committee, here.