Following the recent report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission on the gender gap in financial services, a survey by Opinion Research of people found that, among those who have worked in financial services or big business, 52% of men believed the gap between men and women is generally equal in comparison with 44% of women; 28% of men think the gender gap was a myth based on the anomaly than many women chose to have a career break while only 10% of women are of that opinion. When asked whether their career progression had been harder because of their gender, only 3%of men said yes compared with 21% of women.
Neither gender was very optimistic that the gap would be closed in the near future. Only 17% of women agreed with statement, ‘the glass ceiling will be broken eventually and women will not face a problem getting senior positions' compared with 23% of men.
Dan Foreman, director of Opinion Research, said: "It is fair to say that both men and women believe there is a gender gap in terms of pay and career progression but this study highlights just how big the disparity is between men's perception of the gap compared to women. It is also worrying that nearly a quarter think the gender gap will never be closed."
