The City has worked hard to overcome its traditional image as an inhospitable environment for gay and lesbian employees, according to research by Joslin Rowe.

It found that two years ago, 5.9% of respondents anonymously identified themselves as gay or lesbian, but this had risen to 8.2% in the last twelve months as legislative changes and a diversity drive in the financial services industry encouraged more applicants. 

These figures indicate that out of the 900,000 people working in banking, finance, and insurance  in London, 73,800 are gay or lesbian.

Tara Ricks (pictured), managing director of Joslin Rowe Associates, says: ‘Traditionally the City was perceived as white, heterosexual and male – which put off many gay and lesbian applicants. As a result, the proportion of gay and lesbian workers was far below the national average ten years ago - but it was extremely rare for firms to monitor their own performance in this area so it is difficult to benchmark quite how bad the situation was.

“Times have changed and diversity is now at the centre of recruitment and human resources policy. The City knows it must attract the best talent from all walks of life. Many firms now actively target gay undergraduates, for example, something that was not the case five or ten years ago. The trend has now seen City firms grow the proportion of their staff who are gay – up to 8.2% of the workforce and overtaking the current national average of 5.9%.”