This year’s HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter annual review (published April 2025) showed Charter signatories have, on average, increased female representation by one percentage point per year since 2016, reaching 36% in 2024. But with parity not expected until at least 2045 at this pace, this new Focus on Acceleration report shows how organisations can accelerate further:

• Accelerating to two percentage points per year would bring parity forward to 2034 – a full decade sooner.

• New analysis reveals four stages of maturity in female representation – moving from 20% to 30%, then through 33%, 40% and finally to parity. Each stage demands more deliberate and strategic action.

• The difference between marginal improvement and meaningful change lies in how firms implement actions.

• Accelerating firms take a strategic, accountable, data-led and innovative approach.

Please download the Focus on Acceleration report here, published today by New Financial in collaboration with HM Treasury. The UK government launched the HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter in March 2016 to encourage the financial services industry to improve female representation in senior management. The Charter now has about 450 signatories covering over 1.3 million employees across the sector.

The review monitors the progress of Charter signatories against their Charter commitments. This companion report was produced by New Financial in collaboration with HM Treasury, sponsored by Aviva, Santander UK, London Stock Exchange Group and City of London Corporation.

The key takeaways from the Focus on Acceleration report are:

1. Acceleration is necessary: Since the HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter launched in 2016, signatories have edged up by an average of one percentage point every year, reaching 36% in 2024. While this is progress, it is slow and at risk of slowing further.

2. A single percentage point uptick is vulnerable: If we look more closely at this one percentage point uptick, it is very exposed. There is a fine balance between the signatories that are increasing female representation in senior management roles and those that are not.

3. A long road to parity: The Charter’s overarching aim is for the financial services industry to move towards gender balance. Our estimates show that increasing at one percentage point a year the cohort average would achieve gender balance in 2045, while two percentage points per year would get there in 2034.

4. Sectors are moving at different speeds: Focusing on the cohort average achieving parity masks the marked differences in representation by sector. The best performers are the UK banks and insurers, and furthest behind are the global/investment banks and investment managers.

5. There are signatories moving at more than 1pp: Every year, the majority of signatories are making progress, and the majority of these are increasing by more than one percentage point. But, the drag of the signatories that are unable to maintain the proportion of women in their organisations has thwarted acceleration for the cohort as a whole.

Yasmine Chinwala OBE, partner at New Financial and co-author of the report, said: “The maths is simple: to accelerate progress, more signatories need to increase female representation by at least one percentage point each year. This new report shows a clear roadmap through key milestones to parity, and it’s not just about what actions firms take, but how they implement them.

Every year, the Charter data set becomes richer and more compelling so firms can learn from the accelerators and course correct to achieve progress faster. By being data-led, strategic and accountable, signatories can move from incremental progress to meaningful, sustainable change. We know the nature of the task ahead – we must now embrace the challenge and deliver”.

Emma Reynolds MP, Economic Secretary to HM Treasury: “While average progress is steady at one percentage point a year, not all signatories are accelerating. I am counting on all signatories to sustain their efforts, as increasing women’s representation can improve productivity and competitiveness, and ultimately support economic growth.”

Gwyneth Nurse, Director General, Financial Services, HM Treasury: “As the Charter approaches its 10th year, it is a moment for signatories to step up and continue increasing women’s representation in senior leadership. It’s not just what signatories do, it’s how they do it – using best practice, tracking progress and ensuring actions are implemented consistently across their organisations.”

Dame Amanda Blanc, Group CEO at report sponsor Aviva and Government Women in Finance Champion: “Signatories are at different stages – many are facing multiple challenges. The Charter is here to highlight progress, share best practice, and offer guidance. Please do use the evidence-based resources like the Annual Review and the Women in Finance Blueprint to help your organisation move forward.”