As Markets Media celebrated the best and brightest in the industry at the European Women in Finance Awards last night, a recent study from Sustainable Trading has found that female traders are four times more likely than men to leave their roles due to company culture and a lack of flexible work options.
Sustainable Trading, a membership network aiming to improve ESG business practices across the global markets trading industry, conducted the Trading Employee Workplace Experience survey in Q2 2024. A total of 270 trading professionals took part in the study, 97% being current employees and the majority (52%) disclosing that they were based in the UK. Most participants who disclosed their firm type worked at a bank or broker dealer, and the largest proportion (27%) disclosed that they were senior traders.
Long working hours and poor management make it difficult to maintain a work-life balance, the report noted. One respondent shared: “In the past I have felt the wrath and discrimination of a manager who expected me to be on call 24/7/365 to show up for the firm (including when I had a young child). As an industry we need to work much harder to accommodate parenting.” Accommodations for parenting were a particular priority for female respondents, who shared that long working hours and early starts impacted their parenting responsibilities.
On the results, Sustainable Trading said: “We are currently discussing these findings with our members and are considering together whether to explore this subject further and if there is additional research that should be undertaken to support these discussions.”
Although it was not directly covered by the study, 35% of survey participants stated that reduced market hours and shorter working hours would be the one thing they would change about the industry. The topic was referenced 60 times in the open-ended sections of the survey.
The impacts of long working hours ranged from the long-term ability to remain in the industry to the ability to manage a family and physical and mental health, they shared. Hybrid working and the implementation of breaks throughout the day to leave the desk would improve work-life balance and allow traders to take better care of themselves, the study said.
Currently, more than three quarters traders at investment management firms are using a hybrid working model, the survey found. By contrast, the group most likely to use flexible working was employees of exchanges and trading venues. Banks and brokers reported the smallest percentage of flexible or hybrid working model use.
Management style is also a major contributor to workplace experience, Sustainable Trading noted. Although the majority of participants (80%) stated that they ‘strongly’ or ‘somewhat’ had positive experiences with senior management, others reported experiences of overworking, stigmas towards employees’ challenges and nonadaptive management styles. Open communication, accessibility and being a part of strategy and direction were highlighted as particularly important factors.
Overall, 40% of female participants and 21% of male participants shared that they had left a job within the past five years, primarily due to a desire for career progression. Female employees are more likely to engage with mentorship programmes than their male counterparts, the study found (38% versus 25%), with similar differences seen with sponsorship initiatives (11% versus 7%). A wish for such programmes to be extended to a wider range of employees was expressed by some participants, with one suggesting that “opportunities should be provided to senior traders to network, as you fall into a “trap” where you are not going to conferences because you are not the head trader. The focus is on retaining junior traders and employees.”
Almost two thirds of participants (71%) stated that their firms offering volunteer programmes is important to them and 72% believed that these initiatives met their values. The 28% who did not commented that charitable programmes were only approved when they resonated with the C-suite, and that their firms were focused exclusively on financial initiatives. One participant opined that US firms do not put as much as they could into such programmes in light of the “anti-woke” backlash.
“Understanding employees’ first-hand perspectives of their firms can catalyse better decisions around support and retention,” the report said. “By providing this in-depth analysis, the report enables employers to better understand and address employee needs, improve workplace conditions, and enhance overall job satisfaction.”
©Markets Media Europe 2024
