Britain's financial regulators proposed guidance on Monday for financial firms to tackle sexual harassment and bullying, along with new requirements for large banks and insurers to set targets to improve diversity and inclusion.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority said their proposed measures would boost diversity and inclusion to support healthy work cultures, reduce groupthink and unlock talent.
"The proposals set flexible, proportionate minimum standards to raise the bar, placing more requirements on larger firms," said Bank of England Deputy Governor Sam Woods in a statement.
The proposals include rules and guidance to make clear that misconduct such as bullying and sexual harassment poses a risk to a healthy work culture, and will help firms take appropriate action against employees for such behaviour, the regulators said.
"We’re strengthening our expectations on how the firms we regulate consider such misconduct when deciding whether someone is fit and proper to work within the industry," FCA Chief Executive Nikhil Rathi said.
