Gender experience in the finance sector
03 March 2016
According to new research from the AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians) the experiences of men and women working in finance varies drastically in terms of pay, progression and prejudice.
The AAT surveyed 2,000 finance professionals, 1,000 female and 1,000 male, to get their views on gender issues in the finance industry. The research shows differences in men and women’s experience of discrimination.
Key findings include:
- 61% of men believe men and women in their organisation doing the same jobs are paid equally, but less than half of their female counterparts agree (47%)
- The top three reasons people identified for unequal pay were: the fact that men have historically always been paid more (58%); that the people deciding on salaries are more likely to be men than women (32%); and the persistent ‘old boys club’ mentality (28%)
- 39% of 18-24 year-old women say men and women aren’t given the same career progression opportunities, twice as many as 18-24 year-old men (18%)
- Almost half of mothers (48%) think that having children is a top barrier to progression in the workplace, compared to just 30% of fathers
- Almost a third of mothers (32%) say that men and women aren’t given the same career opportunities because child caring responsibilities fall mostly to women, nearly double the proportion of fathers (17%).