Mon, 16 Apr 2012

While nearly three-quarter of investment bank and hedge fund staff are against quotas for the number of women at board level in the City, only 10% of these staff think enough is being done to retain talented women.

This is according to a survey of 200 City staff conducted by financial services recruiter Astbury Marsden.

Figures published earlier this year show that the number of women on FTSE 100 boards stood at 15% last year.

Melissa Stierwalt, contract banking manager at Astbury Marsden who led the survey, says: “There are very few jobs left in financial institutions where intelligence, work ethic and capability do not trump how ‘clubbable’ an employee is. The need to be blind to gender is engrained throughout recruitment policy across the City.”

“However, more may need to done to shake off the perception that the City is male-dominated and our poll shows that bankers do expect their employers to take more practical steps to encourage female workers into senior roles.”