© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Commuters walk during the morning rush hour near the Bank of England in the City of London financial district in London, Britain, February 8, 2024. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File PhotoLONDON -Some of Britain's top financial firms pay women 28.8% less on average than male counterparts, salary data from 21 companies reviewed by Reuters shows, even though they say they are striving to hire more females for higher-paid, senior roles.
Many of the big finance companies struggle to attract and retain female talent in high-powered roles, hampering the rate of change across the industry and in some individual cases the situation has not improved. HSBC disclosed a mean pay gap of 43.2% in 2023, across all its UK entities. In 2022, it reported a 45.2% mean average gap between female and male earnings.
The Asia-focused bank reported a positive trend in women taking leadership roles, up from 25% in December 2016 to 32.5% at end-December 2023.) said its mean pay gap dropped to 21.3% in 2023, from 24.3% the year prior. Abrdn disclosed a 3.9 percentage point narrowing to 24.8% in 2023. But Legal & General said its pay gap widened, coming in at 21.3% in 2023 from 20.9% the year prior.