gender gap - Anonymous employee Barclays Employee Review

The risk management of the firm has shifted and is now set up in a very conflictual mode where members of the risk organization are encouraged to be aggressive and to use tough language towards their counterparts. Whether that comes from top managers is unclear but it appears to be related to the addition of personal in managing roles with prior-experiences from other banks. There is a clear gap between the official company culture and the day to day working environment that does not promote collaboration. Being a woman inside Barclays in NY is very difficult. My new manager explained to me on his first day that I would certainly have kids soon and that in anticipation I should adjust my schedule. Most of the new hires are men and were engaged with less experience at a higher pay rate and with a higher ranking. I first thought I was misinterpreting events but my opinion in a masculine-only environment started to be frequently overlooked. I even reached out to receive some mentoring from successful women in the firm but that did not help. Some of them aknowledged that they were not really happy with their responsabilities and pay. I also learned that other women had experienced similar situations. The situation was much different in the UK where the salary gap between me and my male colleagues appeared much less asymmetrical and my opinions were equally valued. I also experienced akward situations related to diversity for instance a colleague and I were singled out as assets not for our contribution but for our ethnicity. While several other awkward situations occurred I think this may be an isolated problem specific to our department. It raises the question of the oversight from HR and/or top management on yet another theme that impacts the working environment.