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Sexual harassment whistleblower reports in financial services firms more than triple in past year

Journalist: Rozi Jones, Financial Reporter

ended 09. May 2023

In light of a new report out next week which shows that sexual harassment whistleblower reports in financial services firms more than tripled in the past year, we're looking for views from anyone working in the financial services industry.

Is the problem getting worse, are the figures due to more people reporting assaults, and is financial services a safe industry to work in?

5 responses from the Newspage community

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Emma JonesVerified
Managing Director at Whenthebanksaysno.co.uk
I can imagine there’s still issues because mindset needs to change and that’s not an overnight fix. I am glad to see reports are being made and maybe this is just a sign that more people are reporting it now to help stamp it out.

My question I am asking myself is how many of those reports were took seriously with the right consequences?
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Andrew MontlakeVerified
Managing Director at Coreco
It is terrible that issues such as this still occur and as an industry, we will not rest until they are consigned to history. The positive to take from this however is that there has been a fundamental shift since the AMI Viewpoint report into D&I, and coupled with the support of IMLA and the excellent work of groups such as DIFF, more people now feel able to report such issues rather than suffer in silence.
With this in mind, it is important to show that this is not that it is getting worse, but that it is getting better. Perpetrators know that they can no longer get away with this behavior and those that come forward will be supported. The Working in Mortgages website is a great resource and there are now places and people to turn to who will listen.
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Debbie PorterVerified
Managing Director at Destination Digital Marketing
Just as the recent news of the sexual misconduct of multiple senior figures at the CBI broke outlining years of misconduct, a rise in whistleblowing in any industry isn’t an indicator of anything other than more people have chosen to step forwards.

It’s not that things are getting worse, it is more an indicator of a cultural shift that enables individuals to feel confident in calling it out and not feeling ashamed for doing so. Organisations that support whistleblowers rather than persecute them by swiftly managing them out of the business will also be a reason we are hearing of more incidents. Compromise agreements brokered by HR departments don’t get included in these figures, and if we had true transparency, they would.
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Scott Taylor-Barr0
Principal Adviser at Barnsdale Financial Management
Whilst I have no evidence one way or the other, it is my deepest hope that this increase is due to the work the likes of AMI and IMLA are doing to make financial services a more inclusive, diverse and safe place to work giving those that are being harassed the courage to stand up, knowing that they will be supported. The impact that projects such as Working In Mortgages has had within the sector can already be seen and hopefully more and more of these initiatives will further help to make the whole of financial services a safe, diverse and inclusive place for people to work and be their genuine selves in the workplace.
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David RobinsonVerified
Co-Founder at Wildcat Law
Sadly this is a problem that never went away but I suspect the figures finally represent more people speaking out about it. I am constantly amazed that financial services still has a number of firms where this is allowed to continue. Unfortunately it is usually due to the male dominance of many roles within financial services which allows an archaic "boys" environment. As this often goes very high up within the organisations it is no wonder that it has not been effectively stamped out. It is not enough to have more women in senior positions we need significant cultural changes within organisations as well.