The challenges of diversity data disclosure – diversity breakfast with the SRA

With initiatives such as the HMT Women in Finance Charter and New Financial’s own diversity disclosure research there is ever-growing pressure on financial services companies to disclose more data on diversity.

While there are many firms who see the benefits of being open and transparent, there are many common arguments made against disclosure, such as: ‘legal says no, we’re afraid of discrimination lawsuits, US head office would never allow it, data protection issues, competitive disadvantage, the numbers don’t look good and we don’t want another rod for our backs’.

But since 2011, UK-regulated law firms have been required to collect, report and publish diversity data, and the self-reporting form includes ethnicity, sexuality, religion, disability and social mobility criteria. We figured that if the law firms themselves have worked out a way to do it, the banking and finance industry can probably do it too.

We are very pleased to have Jane Malcom, executive director of external affairs at the Solicitors Regulation Authority, as our guest speaker, as well as Sian Hughes, the SRA’s diversity and inclusion manager.