Insights / 09-07-2021 / London

On 7 July 2021, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a joint Discussion Paper (DP) with the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Bank of England titled: ‘Diversity and inclusion in the financial sector – working together to drive change’. Below are some statements taken from the DP:

“We recognise that the financial sector has taken steps forward on diversity and inclusion. But there is much more that needs to be done to create truly diverse and inclusive organisations that meet the diverse needs of those we serve."

"Diversity and inclusion are critical to our work on culture and governance, particularly for boards and senior management."

"Research shows the positive benefits between diversity and inclusion and positive outcomes in risk management, good conduct, healthy working cultures, and innovation”.

By 30 September 2021, comments are sought on 29 questions, which range from: whether remuneration should be linked to diversity and inclusion as part of non-financial performance assessment; whether all firms should have and publish a diversity and inclusion policy; and which parts of these types of policy, if any, should be mandatory; what kind of training would be effective in promoting diverse workforces and inclusive cultures; and to what data regulators could monitor to understand whether diversity and inclusion is supporting better decision making within firms.

The Discussion Paper (DP) also sets out the regulators preliminary thinking of future diversity and inclusion data and metrics. Whilst each company should take a personalised approach - one size does not fit all - so the DP sets out potential steps firms may wish to consider in measuring diversity and inclusion.

For more information and advice, please contact a member of our Regulatory Solutions team.