In this article we talk to some senior female compliance figures about the job market's perception of women in our sector and their opportunities for advancement.

The various women in compliance are: (a) the head of financial crime monitoring and controls at the British affiliate of a medium-sized African bank; (b) the European head of a compliance certification association; and (c) Liz Kyrianou, the associate director of customer onboarding/due diligence at British Arab Commercial Bank. Each lady's reply to each of the questions below is preceded by her identifying letter. There then follows a conclusion.

Q: Are you aware of any initiatives that your or other firms are running to help close the gender pay gap?

Answer from A: “Our bank did a salary review and it resulted in upgrades of pay for a lot of staff members so they were more in line with the market rate, regardless of gender. That review made it clear that there was a lot of disparity in the pay of women and men, myself included - I was not remunerated fairly compared to my male colleagues at the time.”

Answer from B: “Personally, I’m not aware of a huge gender pay gap in Compliance. ACAMS held a financial crime leaders panel in Europe where global heads of Compliance for Tier 1 banks came together, two of which were women. Further to this, I know many women who hold senior positions within compliance.”

Answer from C: “There are none that I am aware of. However, with BACB I’m not sure that a gap exists. All salaries are banded and pay increases are meritocratic. For the first time, and since joining my current firm, I feel fairly remunerated.”

This shows...

In the past, there has been a substantial disparity in pay between men and women in compliance. Although some firms are not trying explicitly to reduce the gender pay gap, there has been a recent movement in the direction of firms trying to remunerate women fairly and make it easier for them to reach senior positions.

Q: Are firms proactively doing anything to help women obtain senior jobs in compliance?

Answer from A: “It is noticeable not just in compliance, but our CEO is very keen to make sure that women reach the executive committee of the bank. So far the progress has been strong and a 50/50 male/female split has been achieved. This has happened through deliberately interviewing women for the jobs, in some instances only women, and then putting them into training courses for the roles. For example, the current chief compliance officer was supported and funded to reach her SMF [senior management function] certification.”

Answer from B: “I haven’t noticed a whole lot of activity in this respect and whilst there are a lot of women in compliance, the gender is not represented at the higher level positions.”

Answer from C: “Our CEO is a woman, which is great. She was also previously our CFO and company secretary. Flexible working is taken into consideration and is offered where possible.”

This shows...

Women already do senior jobs at some firms, and those who do should become an inspiration for firms that are not doing enough. It should not only be a case of simply hiring women to do the top jobs but also a case of helping them progress through the ranks internally.

Q: Is there anything else you think the industry could do?

Answer from A: “It would be great to see more work to promote and develop women at lower levels rather than just focusing on the top level by headhunting and some specific training. Focus on grassroots and continued development of women in the workplace and we shall see far more women who work their way through the profession and progress to fill senior positions.”

Answer from B: “Now is the opportunity to leverage the full glamour of diversity and it should be embraced by firms so they can create opportunities where people can apply without discrimination. This provides more opportunity for individuals to invest in themselves. Smaller institutions without huge learning & development support will need to communicate more with their workforce, and ensure that each and every person is taking time to invest in themselves. As a result, the cream will then rise to the top, regardless of gender.”

Answer from C: “I don’t think a firm of our size needs a female steering committee, but I can really see how this would benefit some of the larger banks. I think all institutions should be encouraging women to join relevant compliance work-groups and industry meet-ups. In the past we have encouraged both current and potential future female leaders to attend 'Women in Banking' events or seminars focussed on raising their profile & visibility. This has proved valuable in terms of providing a forum to share experiences and focus their development.”

This shows...

Because firms are at last concentrating on reducing the gender pay gap, not only in compliance but in all departments, now really is the time for them to push forward with more initiatives and start groups that help women progress from the bottom to the top. Once this is in place and ingrained in their culture, we shall start to see the very best female talent reach senior strata more regularly.

Things are improving, but could be better

It seems as though the position of women in compliance is much better place than it has been, even when we look at the recent future. In the last couple of years, more firms have been proactive in looking at themselves in the mirror and deciding on the things they can do to help women in their careers. It appears that they are also, one bank at a time, trying to diminish the gender pay gap in one swift review. It is important for them to run these reviews regularly to ensure that the pay levels of the two sexes do not drift apart once again.

Banks ought to put more effort into grassroots development instead of only trying to hire ‘ready-made packages’ from elsewhere. They ought to work with women from the start of their careers, encourage them to go to industry meetings and events in order to expand their horizons, and consider more and more female candidates, even if on paper they may not ‘tick every box’ for the jobs in hand.

Morgan McKinley is holding a 'Women in Compliance' event in London on 18th October 2018. To attend, contact Caleb Hawkins at chawkins@morganmckinley.co.uk