As the old saying goes, ‘when American sneezes, England catches a cold’. This week, the two major city watchdogs announced they will be ditching planned ‘Diversity and Inclusion’ regulation.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the regulator for Britain’s financial services sector, first announced their plans to impose extensive new Diversity and Inclusion rules in 2023. After significant pushback at the time, they have finally declared it has ‘no plans to take the work further’. The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), the Bank of England’s regulatory arm, has also issued a statement saying that they are not proceeding with similar proposals. Is this the first sign of a turning point in the creeping politicisation of business?
Much of the state is moving in the opposite direction when it comes to rowing back diversity initiatives
The FCA’s proposals represented some of the most damaging EDI (equality, diversity and inclusion) requirements the financial sector may have seen. They intended to require all firms to put in place a ‘Diversity and Inclusion Strategy’ and expected companies to ‘set targets to address underrepresentation in their firms’.
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