London (AFP)

Alison Rose became Friday the first woman to run one of the city's "big four", the financial heart of the United Kingdom where gender equality is still far from being achieved and the discrimination still flagrant.

"Congratulations to Alison Rose on becoming the first woman CEO of RBS, it is vital to see more diversity across the financial sector, and this is an encouraging step," said Conservative MP John Glen on Twitter.

"Alison is a spirit, a leader and an exceptional inspiration," said Lucy Cashman of the Women Organization, interviewed by AFP.

Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds Banking Group, the other three big banks in the City, are all run by men.

"If there is a record number of women on the boards, the number of women promoted to FTSE 100 companies has dropped to just 5%," said Cashman.

Rose joins the handful of only six women at the head of a company listed on the FTSE 100 index, which brings together the largest British companies.

This very private club includes that of the pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline Emma Walmsley or the Imperial Brands tobacco group Alison Cooper.

"They are so small that the number of leaders in the index who are called Steve or Stephen is higher: seven," noted cynically Friday the newspaper The Telegraph.

A pioneer in the bank, Ms. Rose, a staunch advocate for gender equality, had been preceded in the insurance industry by Inga Beale, the first woman to lead the venerable Lloyd's of London insurance market.

The latter had taken many initiatives to encourage the advancement of women in financial institutions and had publicly reported on her bisexuality to encourage recognition of diverse sexual orientations.

- Humiliations -

That did not prevent Lloyd's from being hit by a scandal of discrimination in April when a Bloomberg article revealed an atmosphere of constant harassment, ranging from sexist remarks to inappropriate gestures.

Lloyd's is expected to publish next week the results of an internal report and unveil measures to change its culture still borrowed from machismo. The insurance industry, to show that it takes the problem seriously, also holds a conference on diversity next week around the world, the "Dive In Festival".

A former BNP Paribas broker in London, Stacey Macken, also won a lawsuit a few days ago against her former employer for discrimination: in her complaint, she described a humiliating work environment, between degrading remarks and contemptuous remarks. She had also found a witch hat on her desk.

"We have made a lot of progress over the past 100 years to improve gender equality but we still have a lot of work," said a spokesman for the City of London Corporation, the Financial District Authority. .

"It is clear that the financial services industry must take decisive action to achieve equal pay and rectify the low level of women in management positions," he added, questioned by AFP.

The British National Bureau of Statistics (NSO) explains that the pay gap between men and women was almost nil in 2018 in the UK as a whole until age 40 but increased dramatically after 40 years, and especially since the position is highly qualified.

Unsurprisingly, the "pay gap" is therefore maximum for financial services leaders (31%), exceeded only by executives of mining and energy companies (49%).

In addition, the gender wage gap in London "has barely changed in the past two decades" while it has declined considerably across the UK, according to the ONS.

© 2019 AFP