Select committee: Treasury Committee
Conclusion 25
Sixth Report - Sexism in the City
Published 8 Mar 2024
Paragraph 157
Addressed to HM Treasury
Treasury Committee Sexism in the City All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
Firms need to adopt a zero-tolerance approach towards sexual harassment and abuse and take concrete action to embed this approach within their organisations. Impunity for perpetrators, who are often well known in their organisations for serial offending, must end. As well as being the right thing to do, several high- profile cases in 2023 show the potential negative impact on a firm if it fails to tackle sexual harassment by its staff. Senior leadership and boards need to take ownership of this issue and ensure that processes for handling complaints result in thorough investigations, protect those making the allegations, and result in appropriate consequences for those found to have perpetrated abuse or harassment. Firms should consider whether their human resources departments are able to fulfil this function, or whether there is a need to establish a separate, more independent process that reports directly to the senior leadership or board.
From: Treasury Committee, Sixth Report - Sexism in the City (HC 240), paragraph 157, 8 March 2024
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 14 May 2024 (deadline 8 May 2024).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.HM Treasury, the PRA and the FCA each welcome the Committee's report, with HM Treasury agreeing with some recommendations but declining others, and the regulators saying they will consider the recommendations on data and targets as they finalise policy.
- On extending the Women in Finance Charter beyond senior representation, HM Treasury agrees a talent pipeline matters but is "unpersuaded" that expanding the Charter's scope is "the right way" to drive change, citing the burden on firms.
- On pay gap reporting, HM Treasury agrees that reporting alone will not reduce the gap, but believes it is "too soon to make changes" and does not consider mandatory action plans "fair or effective".
- On salary bands in job adverts, HM Treasury does "not believe that moving directly to legislation is appropriate at this time", saying it makes sense to first learn from other countries' experience.
- On data reporting and target setting, the PRA and the FCA each say they will consider the Committee's recommendations alongside consultation responses when finalising policy, and the PRA says "no decisions have yet been made".