Confirming the move, PwC said the measure formed part of wider action tackling the professional services firm’s gender pay gap. The firm’s gender pay gap report, released earlier this year, revealed men on average earned 43.8% more than women.

Elaborating on PwC’s move, chief people officer Laura Hinton revealed the firm would be taking the move one step further by setting itself a 50/50 shortlist target for all direct recruitment activity.

Other initiatives PwC has introduced to boost the diversity of its workforce include looking into senior level staff’s attitude towards building a diverse workforce, investing in its returnship programme, introducing career progression coaching and ensuring staff have the opportunities to land career defining roles.

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