Source · Select Committees · Treasury Committee
Recommendation 11
11
Accepted
Paragraph: 77
Risk of losing hybrid working benefits for women with caring responsibilities.
Recommendation
Hybrid working spread accidentally and unplanned as a result of the Covid pandemic and the full benefits and costs of new hybrid and remote working arrangements continue to be identified. Those arrangements have, however, provided substantial Sexism in the City 41 new opportunities for more flexible working patterns from which women, particularly those with children or other caring responsibilities, have benefited. There is a risk that those benefits will be lost if financial sector firms push back towards “presenteeist” office working cultures without considering what has been gained, especially for women.
Government Response Summary
The government agrees that flexible working can improve diversity, noting the recently enacted Flexible Working Act 2023 and Carers’ Leave Act 2023 already assist with flexible working and caring responsibilities. It states its approach is to focus on outcomes for firms rather than specifying interventions, but will provide support where a regulatory view is needed.
Paragraph Reference:
77
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
We agree with the Committee that firms’ policies on parental leave and flexible working could help firms improve diversity and inclusion. We also note the changes to Flexible Working Act 2023 and the Carers’ Leave Act 2023 which came into force 6 April 2024 and which will assist many with improved flexible working and caring responsibilities. In developing our consultation proposals, we were nevertheless careful to focus on the outcomes that we expect firms to deliver rather than specifying how firms should look to make improvements, so that firms could choose the interventions that were most likely to improve outcomes for their own situation. The proposals within the CP made it clear that firms should examine their own data to see whether or not any barriers exist to securing benefits from enhanced diversity and inclusion and that, where such barriers are found, they should then identify and target interventions accordingly–potentially including flexible working initiatives. That said, we will support industry and Government where a regulatory view is needed.