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EY and PwC are expected to miss their 2025 targets for female partner representation in the UK, as the big four accountancy firms struggle to increase the representation of women sufficiently in their senior roles.
EY’s UK arm has set its most ambitious targets, but it looks set to fall far short of achieving them. The company aims to have 40% female equity partnerships by this year, but last year’s data showed that only 28% of domestic partners were women.
Audit firms have increased the number of women in top roles in recent years, with EY recently appointing Janet Trancheil as its new global chair and Anna Anthony as its new managing partner in the UK firm.
However, it turns out that increasing the gender balance of partnerships towards equality takes time, and this phenomenon is also true in fields such as law and banking.
The Big Four have all set targets in recent years to increase the proportion of female partners and, in turn, contribute to narrowing the gender pay gap, with the proportion of women in the UK set to fall to less than one-fifth by the end of the year. there is. 2010s.
The latest data shows PwC is three points short of its 2025 target of 30% female partnerships in the UK. This number has increased by 1-2 percentage points each year since 2021, meaning an even bigger leap will be needed to close the gap by the time PwC releases new numbers later this year. .
KPMG and Deloitte have already achieved their own goals in the UK. The former was the first of the Big Four to publish data on gender diversity nearly a decade ago and exceeded its interim target of 25 percent in 2022. In 2023, the proportion of female partnerships in the UK will be 29 per cent.
And Deloitte reported last year that 30 percent of its partners are women, ahead of a 2025 deadline to hit this number.
But the two companies are unlikely to achieve the goals of their global partnership, goals that PwC and EY do not have.
The Big Four argue that increasing the number of female partners will take time, as they need to build a pipeline of candidates with enough experience to be promoted.
Carl Edge, chief people officer at KPMG UK, said the firm was “committed to creating an inclusive environment”, adding: Go farther, faster. ”
KPMG International said it would “build further momentum” on gender equality, which remains a “strategic priority”.
Jackie Henry, managing partner for people and purpose at Deloitte UK, said the firm was “proud” to have achieved its 2025 target a year early. “However…we will continue to take responsibility and work to improve gender equality.”
EY and PwC declined to comment.
