FCA continues its strong commitment to diversity and inclusion

Press Releases First published: Last updated: 11/10/2016

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has today published targets for the Women in Finance Charter, which it signed in June 2016. As a commitment to diversity in senior roles, the FCA has also announced its Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic (BAME) targets for 2020 and 2025. This comes as part of its continued commitment to diversity and inclusion.

The FCA aims to ensure that:

  • 45% of the FCA Senior Leadership Team will identify as female by 2020, and 50% by 2025 
  • 8% of the FCA Senior Leadership Team will identify as BAME by 2020, and 13% by 2025

Andrew Bailey, CEO of the FCA, said:

“Every day we make judgements and decisions that impact almost everyone in the UK so it’s vital that our people reflect the society that we serve. I am proud of the FCA’s work to date on diversity. Setting targets for the FCA Senior Leadership Team to be representative of the female and BAME UK populations is a logical next step.

“I believe that we are nothing without our people, and a workplace which combines talented people and diverse backgrounds is the best sort. Encouraging diverse attitudes and opinions in our daily work makes us a stronger and more effective regulator.”

The FCA’s Executive Diversity Committee (EDC) takes strategic decisions on issues affecting equality, diversity and inclusion at the FCA, and has senior executive level responsibility for taking forward the FCA’s plans and activities.

As well as the EDC, the regulator has a number of Staff Network Groups that play an essential role in helping shape and deliver the FCA’s diversity and inclusion objectives. These groups are open to all and include BAME, disability, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans (LGBT), women, faith, carers and international groups. These networks are provided with specialised training to help promote an inclusive work environment.

The FCA also works with external partners to provide opportunities to learn and share best practices and is in the top 40 of Stonewall's top 100 LGBT friendly employers.

The FCA considered diversity issues when designing the new website to ensure that it gives users greater accessibility. The most popular pages are available in Welsh and we offer translated content in French, Spanish, Polish and Arabic. For users with disabilities and/or using assisted technology, the site is AA compliant.

Notes to editors

  1. We used Office of National Statistics data to set our targets. 13% BAME and 50/50 gender are representative of the diversity of the UK population.
  2. Currently, the FCA has a 39% female to 61% male ratio in its SLT.
  3. Currently, 3% of the FCA SLT identifies as BAME.
  4. The partners we work with include Opportunity Now, Race for Opportunity, Inclusive Employers, Radius, 30% Club, Business Disability Forum, OUTstanding, TNON (the network of networks), CityParents and City Mental Health Alliance.
  5. Read more about diversity and inclusion at the FCA.
  6. On 1 April 2013, the FCA became responsible for the conduct supervision of all regulated financial firms and the prudential supervision of those not supervised by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).
  7. The FCA has an overarching strategic objective of ensuring the relevant markets function well. To support this it has three operational objectives: to secure an appropriate degree of protection for consumers; to protect and enhance the integrity of the UK financial system; and to promote effective competition in the interests of consumers.
  8. Find out more information about the FCA.