Sexism in the City ‘will never end’, says Helena Morrissey

Sexism in UK financial services “will never end”, City veteran and Tory peer Helena Morrissey has said, while poking holes in last week’s bombshell FCA report on the issue.

Morrissey, who chairs the Diversity Project, called out “dubious” findings and criticised a lack of action by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) following its research on non-financial misconduct between 2021 and 2023.

Writing on LinkedIn, Morrissey said perpetrators of bullying, harassment and discrimination “too often get away with it”, noting the FCA found disciplinary or “other” actions were taken in just 43 per cent of cases.

She voiced “doubts” over the FCA’s position that the sharp rise in reports of non-financial misconduct could indicate a healthy speak-up culture.

“Time and again, the Diversity Project has received confidential reports… where someone says their [life] has become worse after reporting what happened, while the perpetrator carries on, perhaps with a rap on the knuckles in the form of a verbal warning,” she said.

“I’m convinced many people don’t report at all, discouraged by the fate of colleagues before them.”

Morrissey, who was previously chair of AJ Bell, said the FCA’s figures on non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) were “quite incredible”.

The FCA found that just seven per cent of sexual harassment cases involved a settlement agreement. But she argued the figure was “not corroborated by the experiences shared confidentially” with the Diversity Project.

“Even the FCA seems dubious about the numbers, declaring ‘We are engaging with industry to understand the context and rationale for this’,” Morrissey added.

In March, the Treasury Committee called for a legislative ban on the use of NDAs in harassment cases as part of its “Sexism in the City” inquiry, which Morrissey gave evidence to. The Conservative government rejected the recommendation.

Morrissey said her “biggest disappointment lies in the regulators’ own response”, criticising the FCA as “time has dragged on with nothing forthcoming”.

She rebuked the FCA for not laying out detailed guidance to firms within the report, despite publishing its original discussion paper on diversity and inclusion in the financial sector more than three years ago.

Morrissey added that the consultation the FCA was still considering feedback on was more than a year old, while questioning the timeline for its promise to “publish our finalised policy in due course”.

“In the meantime, the FCA seems to be handing over responsibility for sorting things out to firms themselves, ‘working with their trade associations’,” Morrissey, who chaired the Investment Association for three years, said.

“Why no urgency? Why no explicit, ‘this is what we expect’? I know some great people who work at the FCA in roles related to this. Please, just do it,” she added.

An FCA spokesperson told City AM that it planned to publish rules later this year “strengthening and clarifying our expectations”.

“Both individual behaviour and corporate culture play a significant role in the risk a firm and its staff pose to all of our objectives,” they added.

“It’s why we have taken a forthright stance and leading role among UK and international regulators on non-financial misconduct.”