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Female financial adviser gap shrinks but more work needed
The female financial adviser gap is starting to narrow, but the industry should “redouble” its efforts to attract more women.
According to research from The Openwork Partnership, the last two intakes for The Openwork Academy had around 32 per cent female candidates.
The academy was founded in 2014 and provides learning and qualification support for financial advice. It has produced around 370 advisers.
The Openwork Partnership itself has more than 4,300 financial advisers across the UK from nearly 700 firms.
Research by the distribution network, which surveyed 100 advisers across the UK, also found that 69 per cent of financial advice firms wanted to grow their business over the next 12 months, which provided opportunities to hire women.
The Openwork Partnership’s network director Claire Limon (pictured) said: “Female financial advice is thriving in the UK with real evidence that the female financial advice gap is starting to narrow but, in a male-dominated advice industry we must redouble our efforts to attract more women into the industry.”
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She said that The Openwork Partnership wanted to take an “industry-leading” position on recruitment strategies to encourage women to enter the financial services sector.
She also praised policy progress with initiatives like Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter but said that “change needs to accelerate”.