"Sexism in the City" inquiry
Executive summary
- AAT was the first accountancy body to sign up to the Women in Finance Charter and has already reached its Charter target.
- As of 5 April 2022, the mean gender pay gap among AAT’s workforce was -0.2% and we also met a target early to have 40% females in senior management roles. We have now committed to a new five-year target to have at least 45% of senior management be female by March 2027.
- The accounting technician profession is a positive mobiliser for more equal gender representation in the wider accountancy profession. Women represent two-thirds of AAT’s membership and student populations.
- However, the whole accountancy profession still has more work to do to address gender disparities, including between the membership and student populations. More analysis is required to investigate why the higher female representation among students at the larger professional bodies is not translating into membership.
- Gender inequality in senior leadership roles remains a challenge for financial services firms and more should be done to address it.
- Four areas that are worth further consideration and support include work flexibility, visibility of female leaders, more women-to-women mentoring opportunities, and offering more tailored support and benefits that are targeted to women’s professional and personal needs.
Related consultation responses
Diversity and inclusion on company boards and executive committees
We believe requirement to comply, rather than an option to explain failure to, is a more robust approach. "Comply or explain" is a step in the right direction.
Ethnic disparities and inequalities in the UK
AAT believes the government should introduce compulsory ethnicity pay gap reporting as soon as possible for companies employing more than 50 staff.
