For more than 800 years the person in charge of the UK’s purse strings has always been a man.
Even before the role of Chancellor of the Exchequer officially existed, it was a man making the country’s major financial decisions.
All that changed on July 4 when Rachel Reeves became the first woman to ever take on the position under the new Labour Government. It was a historical moment for women and girls everywhere.
On October 30, she’ll make waves once more, as the former Bank of England economist unveils her very first budget.
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While many will be inspired by her work, women working in finance are actually feeling a little frustrated by the fuss we’re all making about her.
‘The UK having its first-ever female Treasurer shouldn’t be a big deal, and the fact that it is is simultaneously inspiring and frustrating,’ Amy Rushby, co-founder of car finance app Carmoola, tells Metro.
‘Women can, do and have made remarkable achievements, and demonstrate time and again that they are more than capable of excelling and leading in any industry.’
And she’s not the only one who feels this way. Sarah Beale, the CEO of the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) also doesn’t think the Chancellor’s gender should matter.
‘Is it great to have our first female Chancellor of the Exchequer – yes. But should her gender play a role in the headlines, given we’re in 2024? No,’ she said.
‘The finance sector has come a long way from where it was. Until 1919, women were barred from joining accounting professional bodies. It took until 1974 for women to be able to get a credit card in their own name. Since then, there has been a growing number of women into the sector; in fact, 57% of our AAT members are women.
‘Considering we’re nearly a quarter of the way through the 21st century, it’s quite depressing that the gender of the Chancellor of the Exchequer is news. However, this is the reality.’
This isn’t to say that women in finance aren’t pleased that the UK finally has a female Chancellor. Many have sung her praises and shared how thrilled they are to see a woman take on one of the most powerful political positions in the country.
They acknowledge the significance of this moment, but also know that it’s not the be all and end all as there’s still much more that needs to be done for women working in the industry, and there’s one major issue they’d like Rachel to tackle.
Despite rising numbers of women in finance, equality within the sector has still not been reached, and this is what women in finance really want the Chancellor to work on – regardless of whether the person in that role is male or female.
‘Only one firm within the top 100 UK accounting firms has a higher percentage of female partners than male. There is still a gender pay gap which we saw when we looked at the average fee takings our licensed members collect from clients,’ Sarah explains.
‘The fight for gender parity is long from over. There is no excuse for it – the finance sector is open and accessible to all. For the next generation who are growing up seeing a female in the position of Chancellor of the Exchequer and it being normalised, is fabulous. But it shouldn’t have taken until 2024 to get here.’
The gender pay gap is an issue Sara de la Torre, the head of financial services at Dun & Bradstreet UK&I, is also keen to see the Chancellor tackle.
She told Metro: ‘As a female leader from the banking and fintech industry, I have grown professionally, loving what I do even if the entire financial system was built by men and for men.
‘I have seen finance as an opportunity to make a difference by breaking barriers and standing out with creative thinking and differentiated views. Today the industry has come a long way, and women in finance are recognised as an integral part.
‘Yet there is still a long way to go to truly realise the potential that women bring in the industry, and we must continue to strive for a diverse apparatus to benefit society, employees and economic growth.
‘I hope to see Rachel Reeves accomplish significant strides towards equal pay, affordable childcare and flexible working. These mechanisms are essential for reigniting economic growth in our country.’
In case you needed a refresher on how bad the gender pay gap currently is, the Women’s Budget Group revealed in April that a woman’s median weekly pay is £490.60, compared to men’s £665.60 – a gap of 26%.
When it comes to annual pay the earnings gap worsens, with women getting an annual salary of £24,683 compared to men’s £34,810 – a gap of 29%.
Financial managers and directors are some of those hit hardest by this, where women earn 28.8% less than their male counterparts.
Barristers and judges, production, factory, and assembly supervisors, as well as web design professionals are also roles wiht the largest gender pay gaps.
Thankfully, this issue is something Rachel vowed to resolve if she became Chancellor.
She previously told The Guardian: ‘In the position of Chancellor, I believe the biggest impact that I can make to the lives of ordinary women, women who go out to work, is to close the gender pay gap once and for all. That’s what I’m setting out to do.’
However, Labour don’t plan to legally enforce businesses to reduce the gender pay gap. Instead they would work with them, and businesses would be obliged to implement an action plan. Small businesses with under 250 employees would initially be exempt, but this would later be reviewed.
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