Bulge bracket banks lead the way for family friendly

Britain's investment banks are invariably given a hard time by the press. If it's not about bonuses then it will be something about macho culture and glass ceilings dominating the headlines

In fact, when it comes to a family-friendly agenda in many cases it's the banks who have led the way implementing a variety of the most in depth, innovative, thought-through and occasionally left-field schemes to help.

Over 2/3 of those listed on the Top 20 Global Investment Bank League Table (Thomson Reuters Q4 2010) have already made significant commitments to supporting their working parents. Combinations of flexible working, in-house creche facilities, backup care solutions for childcare and eldercare emergencies and significant commitments to supporting maternity returners through coaching programmes all play their part.

So why is this...

Talent

Talent has always, and will continue to be the main driver. There are some brilliant, fee producing women at all the banks. Before the advent of the Internet and the mobile these women would have had a necessarily stark choice between career and family. Today flexible working is a commercial reality across nearly every industry group and that's no different for banks. Of course, being in a high pressure, competitive, trading floor environment is about the most difficult place to introduce any kind of flexibility. BUT, and this is the encouraging bit, it hasn't stopped banks from trying. Not has it stopped them from enjoying, from an admittedly low base, some significant success.

For career mothers in banking a tiny bit of flexibility, a boss who understands the agenda, and a load of practical support thrown in by the employer for good measure can make all the difference. For a woman wanting the best of career and family it's never been a better time to be working in the City's financial sector. Our optimistic view is that it will only get better.

The stick

If the business case for banks becomes ever easier to make then the stick element of becoming family-friendlier workplaces remains very big indeed. Employment tribunals are expensive, disruptive, often avoidable, and appalling PR. And the regulatory threat – whether it relates to quotas of female directors, full gender pay transparency, or diversity generally will remain very real for banks for some time to come.

The future

We expect banks to continue pushing the boundaries. All the bulge bracket banks and increasingly the second tier ones will eventually have a complete range of childcare and eldercare support, backup care schemes, maternity and mentoring programmes and cultures that genuinely support a degree of work life balance.

If you'd like to know more

Contact us if you'd like to discuss any of the points in this article, or our services in more detail. Otherwise the Working Families conference, hosted by Credit-Suisse, is a good place to start (26th January 2011).

Ben Black, Founding Partner and Managing Director, My Family Care

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