In Focus: Modern financial planner  

Over a third of women experienced gender-based barriers in work

Starting them young

Elsewhere, the report also explored attitudes of teenage girls to employment opportunities in financial services and found that only 19 per cent of female students were considering a career in the sector. 

Of those surveyed, 57 per cent said they did not know enough about financial services to consider it as a career while none could think of a female role model in the sector.

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Simplify Consulting called on all companies, regardless of size, to initiate partnerships with local schools and colleges and to assist with workshops, mentoring and coaching programmes to raise awareness of financial services and offer employability advice. 

In addition to this, Moneserrate said more gender neutrality was needed in the way financial services are talked about so that more young women consider it as a career option. 

“Girls need help getting comfortable with money at an early age - and they also need better career advice. But above all we need more female role models in financial services. We need senior women and male allies to put on the cape and be heroes to the next generation,” she said. 

jane.matthews@ft.com