Big Four set to miss female partner targets for 2025

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EY and PwC are set to miss 2025 targets for female partner representation in the UK as the Big Four accountancy firms struggle to sufficiently increase the proportion of women at senior level.

EY’s UK arm is set to fall dramatically short of its ambitious target. The organization is aiming for 40 percent female equality partnerships this year, with data from last year showing that only 28 percent of partners in the country were women.

Audit firms have dramatically increased the number of women in recent years, with EE recently naming Janet Truncale as its new global chairman and Anna Anthony as the UK firm’s new managing partner.

But increasing co-op’s gender balance towards equality has proven to be a slow process, a phenomenon echoed in sectors such as law and banking.

The Big Four have all set targets in recent years to increase the proportion of their female partners, and in turn help reduce their gender pay gaps, with women accounting for less than a fifth of that level in the UK until recently. 2010s.

It is three percentage points shy of PwC’s 2025 target of 30 per cent female participation in the UK. In the year From 2021, the figure has increased by one to two per cent a year, meaning it will take a big step forward to close the gap before PwC presents its new figures later this year.

KPMG and Deloitte met their own targets in the UK. It was the first of the Big 4 to publish data on gender inequality a decade ago, surpassing an interim target of 25 per cent by 2022. In 2023, 29 percent of female partnerships in the UK were female.

And Deloitte reported last year that 30 percent of its partners are women, ahead of a 2025 deadline to hit that figure.

However, both firms are on track to avoid global partnership goals — goals that PwC and EY lack.

Increasing the number of Big Four female partners will take time as it is necessary to build a pipeline of experienced competitors.

Karl Edge, chief people officer at KPMG UK, said the firm is “committed to creating an inclusive environment”, adding: “While growth may vary, we are focused on achieving better representation at all levels of our company, challenging ourselves to go further.” More and faster.

KPMG International will continue to build on its efforts for gender equality, which remains a “strategic priority”.

Jackie Henry, people and purpose management partner at Deloitte UK, said the company was proud to have achieved its 2025 target a year early. “But . . . We will continue to hold ourselves accountable and strive for greater gender equality.

EY and PwC declined to comment.