The Bank of England interest rate setting committee, which has only one woman among its nine members, will continue to be male-dominated after the Treasury opted to appoint the only man from a shortlist of five candidates.
In a move that immediately sparked protests from women’s groups, the chancellor, Philip Hammond, said Jonathan Haskel, an Imperial College economist, would join the Bank’s governor, Mark Carney, on the monetary policy committee (MPC) for a three-year term starting in September, when he will succeed the outgoing Ian McCafferty.
Quick guide Facts and figures on women in the boardroom
Number with no women executive directors 292
Number with two or more 5
Men; women
No of non-exec directors 1,616; 684
No of executive directors 685; 63
Chief executives 335; 15
- Next – 47%
- Marks & Spencer - 43.2%
- Morrisons - 43.1%
- EasyJet - 41%
- Burberry - 40.8%
- BP
- Fresnillo
- Mediclinic International
- Provident Financial
- St James’s Place
France 39.8%*
Italy 32.2%*
Australia 28.4%
UK 27.7%
Germany 26%*
The Treasury said four women were on the shortlist but an internal panel made up of two women and one man chose Haskel as the best candidate.
Clare Lombardelli, first female chief economic adviser to the Treasury, chaired the panel. She was joined by the former MPC member Kate Barker and Richard Hughes, the Treasury’s director of fiscal policy.
A Women’s Equality party (WEP) spokeswoman said the appointment of Haskel sent the wrong message about the Treasury’s commitment to improving diversity in important areas of public life. “It suggests that even if they had an all-female shortlist, they would probably still appoint a man,” she said.
“Macro-economic policy affects men and women differently because of their different positions in the economy and outside of it. Austerity has disproportionately hurt women, and trade liberalisation and changes to interest rates can have negative consequences for women’s employment.
“Unless and until the Treasury pays greater attention to these issues, we cannot hope to make progress on women’s equality.”
Rachel Reeves, the Labour MP for Leeds West and chair of the business select committee, said it was “truly staggering that the Treasury has failed to appoint a woman to this role”.
“The fact that four women were shortlisted shows that there are plenty of capable and well-qualified women but yet again the top jobs seem to be reserved for men.”
The decision comes only weeks after Threadneedle Street’s deputy governor, Ben Broadbent, was forced to apologise for likening the economy’s lack of productivity to the menopause.
Ministers have also come under fire after the publication of figures that showed women chair only four of the 47 public bodies overseen by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. A report by the department also showed that of the 36 public bodies that work in partnership with BEIS, only seven are led by female chief executives.
FTSE 100 bosses were criticised by the business minister Andrew Griffiths after his department released a report that revealed their objections to promoting women to senior positions, leaving only a handful of women on the boards of large companies. Griffiths said the Hampton-Alexander review showed that women had a long way to go before they gained parity in Britain’s boardrooms.
WEP said that while the government protested its dismay with the lack of women in the boardroom, it appeared to be unable to promote women when it had the opportunity.
It said: “The government has today decried the pitiful excuses for women’s underrepresentation in the boardrooms of listed companies. The question is, what’s their excuse?”
Reeves added: “On the day the Hampton-Alexander review has revealed that firms are dragging their feet on diversity and making excuses for their own failures, this appointment demonstrates the true extent of the challenge that still exists in changing the face of our corporate and financial sectors.”
A Treasury spokesman said: “We are committed to diversity and encouraging the broadest range of candidates. We actively contacted 44 women to apply for this role, 80% of those interviewed were women and the majority of those on the interview panel were women. The final appointment decision was based on merit.”
Haskel came to prominence last year following the publication of his book Capitalism Without Capital: The Rise of the Intangible Economy, and for his success in the Indigo prize for economics, which he shared with the Manchester University economist Diane Coyle.
Haskell’s team put forward a plan to extend GDP to measure intangible and free goods, and also to measure the welfare of societies. His views chime with those of several MPC members who believe officials statistics fail to capture the workings of a sophisticated economy in the digital age.
Hammond said: “I am confident that [Haskel’s] expertise in productivity and innovation will further sharpen the committee’s understanding of the British economy.
Carney said: “His broad academic experience and the depth of his knowledge on productivity and innovation will be hugely valuable to the committee as we seek to promote the good of the people of the United Kingdom by maintaining monetary stability.”