More women apply for financial services jobs than men
THE TRADITIONAL view of financial services as male-dominated and macho has been overturned, as the majority of applicants for jobs are now female, recruitment firm Randstad Financial & Professional said today.
A surge in applications has turned the gender balance on its head since the credit crunch – last year 51 per cent of applicants were female for the first time ever. And women are increasingly likely to land the roles, with 48 per cent of positions now being taken by female staff.
The jobs are across the finance and professional sectors, particularly in areas like accounting and in asset management, the recruiters said.
The roles are typically the job-seekers’ second or third jobs and pay an average of £60,000 to £70,000 per year.
Part of the reason is more women taking the relevant degrees at top universities, Randstad Financial & Professional believes.
“The size of the female talent pool has increased to the extent that, at the application stage at least, women now outnumber men,” said recruitment boss Tara Ricks. “That’s because there are more women studying at top universities than there used to be; more women studying maths, chemistry, physics and economics than there used to be; and more women want to work in professional and financial services than ever, thanks to their flexible employment policies.” But Randstad Financial & Professional believes it will take time for this to feed through to the top of the sector, where senior positions are often dominated by men.