A halt in diversity progress would be disheartening

Industry has come too far to turn back

After months of encouraging signs the asset management industry and the wider financial services are making progress towards improving gender diversity, last week saw a number of disappointing headlines.

Investment Week covered a KPMG report that said our sector faces a "talent crisis" as it is failing to attract potential recruits from other sectors and instead employs more people that have parents already working in asset management compared to other financial services sub-sectors. Specifically, KPMG found 41% of people working in the sector had parents also employed in the financial services space, and only 46% of asset management workers have had a long-term, permanent job in another sector. Additionally, a report by the Royal Statistical Society, seen by The Times, said up to 15%...