Gender Diversity at the workplace in the Financial Industry Dissertation

Gender Diversity at the workplace in the Financial Industry - Dissertation Example This is mostly due to the perception that the female employees tend to have low level of skills therefore they should not be deal with more complex needs of the clients. It is also due to this reason that women are specifically assigned to the roles which are people specific but requires very little or moderate level of skills. This research study adapted the qualitative research approach to understand and explore as to how women face the discrimination in the financial services industry. Introduction Diversity is a relatively diverse concept with different variables being included in the workplace diversity. These variables range from gender, race as well as cultural backgrounds and values each of different variables having strategic importance for the firm. It is therefore critical that the firms must develop their strategic HRM strategies in a manner which value diversity and gender equality. The aim of this dissertation is to show the benefits and importance of women at workplace in general and specifically in financial industry. . Financial industry is going through some strategic changes with many international firms are making layoffs in order to be more competitive and sustain their profitability. What is also important to note that financial services industry is relatively male dominated though at the customer services level as well as the client dealing level, many women work as important employees of the organization. Since financial industry typically operates in a manner that on one hand, it has to deal with the retail customers face to face whereas for its corporate customers it has a relatively different setup. Typical firms in financial services industry include banks, securities firms, and insurance as well as real estate sectors. The overall composition of the workforce in the financial industry therefore varies from particular sector of the industry. Financial industry is typically considered as an industry which requires risk taking and it i s generally believed that men are better at managing risks as compared to women. It is however, critical to note that these trends are now changing with women are increasingly managing large investment amounts. These trends indicate that financial institutions are willing to attract and retain the female employees. The fact that organizations like UBS and Goldman Sachs have female executives indicates that the large organizations in the financial services industry are willing to attract and retain female employees. Despite the fact that women form important part of the overall workforce in financial services industry however, gender inequality as well as gaps is relatively higher in the industry as compared to other sectors of the economy. Issues such as pay gaps are common in the financial services industry. Equality and Human Rights Commission has specifically highlighted the gender inequality within the financial services industry. The commission conducted investigation regarding the persistent sex discrimination as well as the pay unequal pay and highlighted strong evidence about the industry practices. Various other surveys have also highlighted specially the issue of unequal pay between men and women working in the financial services industry critically highlighting the need to boost the morale of