Just two women applied to be governor of the Bank of England
Just two of the 23 people who applied to succeed Mark Carney as governor of the Bank of England were women, despite the Treasury enlisting a specialist headhunting firm in a bid to diversify the list of candidates.
The government named Financial Conduct Authority boss Andrew Bailey, a former central banker, as the BoE’s next governor in December, attracting criticism from those who hoped the Bank could get its first female head in its 325-year history.
In a letter from Chancellor Sajid Javid to the Treasury Select Committee, dated December but published last night, Javid revealed that two women and 21 men had applied for the role.
The letter did not name the candidates, but said nine were shortlisted for interview — both women and seven of the male applicants.
The Bank covers the cost of the recruitment process, but the Treasury appointed headhunting firm Sapphire Partners, which specialises in diversity. The firm was paid £90,000 to help conduct the search, the Guardian reported.
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Former BoE deputy governor Minouche Shafik, head of the London School of Economics, was at one point considered the favourite in the race to succeed Carney.
The Financial Times reported that Prime Minister Boris Johnson rejected Shafik partly because of her critical views on Brexit.
Santander’s UK chair Shriti Vadera was also widely considered to be a candidate, as was Dame Helena Morrisey, former head of personal investing at Legal & General and now a non-executive director of St James’s Place.
When Bailey’s appointment was announced, Javid described him as “the stand-out candidate”. He is due to take up the role in March, and will be paid a salary of £495,000 per year.
A Treasury spokesperson said: “Our aim was always to appoint the best possible candidate, which is is what we have done. And it was right to take steps to run as open a recruitment process as possible. We will continue to support that agenda in the future.”
The Bank of England and Sapphire Partners have all been approached for comment.