Speaking at the Women in Finance Awards, newly-appointed minister for financial services, Stephen Barclay stressed the importance of building a pipeline of female talent for leadership positions at leading financial firms in the UK and refuted excuses made by financial services firms to not sign up to the Charter.

Barclay made clear that the Charter offers financial firms, both large and small, the flexibility they need to make a real difference.

He said: ‘The Charter is simple. It doesn’t tell companies who to hire, or how to run their businesses. But it does ask them to make a real commitment to supporting women and their progression to more senior roles.

It asks them to set their own targets for what that looks like. To measure their progress in achieving them – and make that progress public.

‘I simply don’t buy the argument of those firms who say they cannot do this.’

As well as celebrating the success of women in finance, the Economic Secretary emphasised that firms should also think about improving different types of diversity:

‘The charter does not prevent firms focusing on other aspects of diversity, and if we are to meet the economic and political challenges ahead, we need a meritocracy which promotes diversity across all areas, including LGBT, class, and geography.

In the accounting field, PwC UK, EY and GAAPweb have signed the charter. No other top ten accounting firms and professional institutes are signed as yet.

Over 120 firms have signed up to the Charter, covering over half a million employees, covering more than half of total financial sector staff. The Women in Finance Awards identified and celebrated role models and advocates in financial services. The awards are supported by the Treasury, 30% club, London Stock Exchange, Virgin Money, Bloomberg, Prudential and Rolls-Royce, among others.

Winners were chosen by an independent panel of judges. Many of the winners, including the top prizes of the night, went to those from firms signed up to the Charter.

Top winners include:

Woman of the Year - Emily Cox, Virgin Money: for the flagship award, given to an inspiring leader who has challenged, influenced and revolutionised the culture of the business, the judges chose Emily Cox. She stood out as a game changer for her work on the Gadhia Report, and for furthering the momentum of the Women in Finance Charter.

Banker of the Year - Maria Harris, Atom Bank: awarded for being one of the most influential and inspirational women in banking thanks to her genuinely disruptive approach to mortgage lending. Her work in mentoring team members and hiring for diversity singled her for this award. This was also evidenced by the scores of testimonials from clients and co-workers in praise of her hard work.

Advocate of the Year - Andrew Bester, Lloyds Banking Group: Bester has gone out of his way to drive greater diversity and inclusion at all levels of Lloyds bank. Under his leadership, Lloyds Bank is now on track to reach its 2020 commitment of 40% of women in senior roles.

Employer of the Year - Columbia Threadneedle: the fund management firm has a proven track record of proactively cultivating a diverse workforce, introducing specific measures to promote diversity and backing these up by measurable impact.

Insurance Leader of the Year - Debbie Cannon, LV= Insurance: Cannon won this title for her truly inspiring journey, compellingly honest story, and for standing up as a role model to other women in the sector.

Legal Adviser of the Year - Leigh Kirkpatrick, RBS: a lawyer who has broken barriers to advancement, carved out a niche for herself in finance, while simultaneously paving the way for greater diversity in her firm. This was further bolstered by her mentoring and pro bono work outside of office hours.

The Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter commits firms to supporting the progression of women into senior roles in the financial services sector by focusing on the executive pipeline and the mid-tier level; recognises the diversity of the sector and that firms will have different starting points – each firm should therefore set its own targets and implement the right strategy for their organisation; and requires firms to publicly report on progress to deliver against these internal targets to support the transparency and accountability needed to drive change.

Details about the Women in Finance Charter are available here

Women in Finance Charter List of 122 signatories (June 2017)