eFinancialCareers

Recruiters say women in the City needn’t fear discrimination in product control.

A report from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) says few women are finding their way to the top in finance. Yet while for many people the City retains an element of macho notoriety in the wake of recent high-profile discrimination cases, product control teams appear to be beacons of equality.

Madi Lawson of Joslin Rowe says, “I would say it’s about 50:50 in terms of those in senior roles making hiring decisions – prejudice against women is a rather old-fashioned view in the City these days. Banks are much more conscious of the need to strike an equal balance.”

Quite apart from that, sex discrimination just doesn’t make business sense when lack of skill is rife, says Lorraine Traynor, manager of financial services at recruiter Nigel Lynn: “There’s such a shortage of people with product control experience that gender is really not an issue.”

And product control is sufficiently removed from the male-dominated bear pit of the sales floor not to deter women: “Despite the historical, old boys’ network image of the trading rooms, the reality is that product control is essentially a support function,” says Traynor. “And although there is some liaison with the traders, this tends to be by telephone. So the role is just as appealing to women as it is to men.”

“And with most of the major players having formal diversity policies in place – specifically aimed at addressing any imbalance – the future for women looks very positive.”