The City has been accused of being an “unethical” place to work and an area which is “rife with discrimination” by a number of female undergraduates.
According to the Times, a survey of 450 Oxford undergraduates was conducted after a bank and management consultancy approached the university to ask why only one-third of its students applying for graduate positions were female.
In a quest for answers, the poll revealed that female students viewed banking in the City as unethical and the area in which they were likely to suffer the most discrimination.
Furthermore, 85 per cent believed that “people like me” would face bias based on their sex in the financial services, in comparison to half of the men asked.
Meanwhile, almost 70 per cent of women thought this would lead to a reduced chance of promotion, while 35 per cent believed they would encounter discrimination in day-to-day treatment and 30 per cent in the flexibility of their working hours.
Such findings may be backed up by a recent survey by TheLadders.co.uk, which found that while women perform best at job interviews, they fail to secure the top positions because of fears surrounding maternity leave.
Posted by Ross George
