Our colleagues can voluntarily share their diversity data, helping us gain a clearer picture of our workforce demographics.
This insight allows us to foster an inclusive culture that supports and represents everyone.
Our approach to diversity data
Providing colleagues the opportunity to share their diversity data strengthens our ability to monitor and report workforce demographics throughout the employee lifecycle.
We gather, track and report workforce diversity across the 9 protected characteristics outlined in the Equality Act 2010[1], alongside additional demographic data we consider important such as socio-economic background.
Find out how to read this data below.
Workforce representation by characteristic
Explore workforce representation by characteristic using the links below.
Age
We gather age data from colleagues and have a 100% declaration rate in this category.
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Data table
Overall, the workforce is spread across age groups, but the data shows a clear progression towards older age profiles at more senior grades.
Disability
We ask colleagues to share whether they have a disability, with 81.2% providing a response.
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Data table
Most colleagues (66.6%) said they do not have a disability, 10% said they do have a disability, 5.5% preferred not to say and 17.9% have not declared their status.
Race and ethnicity
We collect ethnicity data from colleagues, with 96.9% providing a response.
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Most colleagues identify as White, with smaller proportions from minority ethnic backgrounds. A small percentage have chosen not to say.
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Data table
The proportion of colleagues from minority ethnic backgrounds varies by grade.
Representation is generally higher at more junior grades and lower at more senior grades, including the senior leadership team.
Religion or belief
We collect data on religion or beliefs from colleagues, with 94.5% providing a response.
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Data table
Many colleagues identify with a religion, while others report having no religion or prefer not to say. The largest groups are atheist or no religion, and Christian.
Sex
We follow guidance from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). In doing this, we collect data on legal sex along with a voluntary question on gender identity.
The legal sex question is mandatory, as this data is required for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) reporting and statutory pay gap calculations.
The gender identity question offers broader response options for colleagues who wish to self-identify.
We ensure reporting does not single out individuals based on their legal sex or gender identity and take precautions to prevent identification of individuals.
As of 31 March 2026, we have a 100% declaration for legal sex and a 87.2% declaration for gender identity.
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Data table
The workforce is broadly balanced by legal sex, with 52.2% female and 47.6% male. A very small proportion identified as non-binary (0.1%).
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Data table
Women are the majority in professional support and associate roles, men are the majority in technical specialist and manager roles, and SLT is evenly split.
*To avoid identifying individuals where there are fewer than 6 people in a group, this shows as 0 on the chart and an asterisk (*) in the data table.
Gender reassignment
In addition to the question on gender identity, we also ask a question on trans status. This is based on guidance and recommendations from the ONS and government and allows us to capture information on people who identify as trans.
We have a 73.7% declaration rate for this category.
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Data table
Most colleagues said they are not trans (71.9%). Very small numbers said they are trans (0.1%), 3% preferred not to say, and 25% were undeclared.
Sexual orientation
We collect data on sexual orientation, with 94.5% of colleagues providing a response.
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Data table
Most colleagues in 2026 were heterosexual or straight (78%), with 10.4% preferring not to say.
Marriage and civil partnership
We collect data on marital status from colleagues, with 75.1% providing a response.
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Data table
Marriage or civil partnership was the largest category (42.3%), followed by single at 20.4%. A further 23% were undeclared.
Pregnancy and maternity
We track maternity and parental leave data. For the year ending 31 March 2026:
- 105 women took maternity leave.
- 154 men took paternity leave.
Caring responsibilities
We collect data on caring responsibilities from colleagues, with 79.8% providing a response.
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Data table
Over half of colleagues do not have caring responsibilities (57.1%). For colleagues with caring responsibilities, the largest group provides care for up to 19 hours a week. About 1 in 5 colleagues were undeclared.
Parental responsibilities
We collect data on parental responsibilities from colleagues, with 81.4% providing a response.
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Most colleagues said they do not have parental responsibilities (46%). A third (33.1%) said they do, and 17.7% were undeclared.
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Data table
Professional or higher socio-economic background was the largest reported category (36.8%), while 17% of colleagues were from a working-class or lower socio-economic background. A further 26.1% were undeclared.
Declaration rates
Declaration rates vary across diversity characteristics. We have made some strong progress on rates but continue to engage with colleagues to build trust, knowledge and understanding of the importance of diversity data.
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Data table
Declaration rates were highest for age and legal sex (100%) and lowest for socio-economic background (73%) and trans status (75%).
How to read this data
This section explains how to interpret the workforce representation data on this page.
What the data shows
- The data covers colleagues at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Payment Systems Regulator (PSR).
- It shows representation across protected characteristics (such as age, disability and ethnicity), as well as additional demographics like socio-economic background.
- Data is based on headcount.
- Data reflects the year ending 31 March 2026, unless stated otherwise.
- References to senior leadership team (SLT) represent heads of department, directors, executive directors, the chief executive and the chair.
Voluntary disclosure
- Most diversity data is voluntarily shared by colleagues.
- As a result, some categories have lower response rates than others.
- We’ve published declaration rates for 2026, to help you understand how complete each dataset is.
Percentages and rounding
- Percentages are rounded.
- This means totals may not always add up to 100%.
‘Prefer not to say’ responses
- Some colleagues choose not to share their personal data.
- These responses are included in totals but may be shown separately or excluded from some breakdowns to allow clearer comparisons.
Small numbers and confidentiality
- We do not report data where very few people are represented.
- This is to protect the anonymity of individuals and prevent identification.
Using charts and tables
- Each chart is supported by a data table and download option.
- Use the tables if you need the exact figures or are using assistive technology.
