Female regulator in ‘little lady’ jibe

A TOP banker called a senior female supervisor ‘little lady’ in a recent meeting, one of the City watchdog’s most powerful women has said.

It was held up as an example of City sexism by Megan Butler, head of investment supervision at the Financial Conduct Authority.

She used a speech at the annual Women in Finance study to blast old-fashioned attitudes.

Butler said: ‘My hope is that we can finally leave this sort of throwaway comment in the past.

‘And on a purely personal level, what I would genuinely love is that when I walk into a meeting with senior industry representatives, I am not the only woman in the room.’

Finance and insurance has the biggest gender pay gap of any British industry, with women paid an average 35.6pc less than men.

Butler added that there is evidence more diverse firms perform better.

Female investors outperform men by 1.11pc, she said, and firms with a mix of male and female managers attract 6pc more of savers’ cash.