Why financial services are losing senior women and how to stop the leak

Senior female talent is leaving financial services firms at exactly the moment they should be reaching the C-Suite. The cause rarely appears in exit interview data.

The broken rung: Where women are really leaving

She has been with the firm for 15 years. Mid-40s. High performer. Recently promoted into a director-level role. Then her output quietly declines. She takes a week off, then another. Six months later, she hands in her notice. No exit interview surfaces the real reason. The firm spends £50,000 to £100,000 replacing her. This is not a hypothetical. This is happening in financial services organisations across the UK every week.

Unlike junior-level turnover, senior female attrition is expensive, disruptive, and largely invisible in standard HR data because the real cause - unmanaged health - is rarely disclosed. The numbers tell a clear story:

• 1 in 4 women consider leaving work due to menopause symptoms, and 1 in 10 actually do.
• 17% of women leave employment within five years of childbirth.
• 88% of employees say they would change jobs for better fertility support.
• Women are also twice as likely as men to delay seeking medical help, meaning health issues escalate silently before they affect performance visibly.

Women in these roles are not the problem. The problem is that unmanaged hormonal, gynaecological and fertility-related health conditions, left without organisational support, create barriers that are entirely preventable and avoidable.

The Women in Finance Charter: Ambition without infrastructure

Many financial services firms are signatories to the Women in Finance Charter, with publicly stated targets for female representation at senior levels. Yet attrition data tells a different story. The pipeline narrows at the mid-to-senior transition - not because women opt out, but because organisations fail to provide the support that would allow them to stay.

The conflict is direct: if your firm has a Women in Finance Charter target and a 1 in 10 menopause-related departure rate, these two facts cannot coexist without cost. One is a policy commitment; the other is a measurable, avoidable expense.

Five life stages financial services firms could be ignoring

Targeted, evidence-based support at these five high-impact life stages is where the attrition risk is highest.

Menstrual health and gynaecological conditions

Conditions like endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affect millions of women of working age. On a high-pressure trading floor or in an advisory environment, chronic pain and fatigue are career-limiting - yet entirely invisible to line managers and HR teams.

Fertility and family planning

IVF cycles, pregnancy loss and fertility treatment create significant emotional and physical burden. In financial services, where disclosure feels professionally risky, women absorb this entirely alone. Organisations that proactively acknowledge this life stage and offer confidential support build the psychological safety that retains talented women during one of their most vulnerable periods.

Bone health and musculoskeletal wellbeing

Risk factors for osteoporosis begin in a woman's thirties and forties - peak career years. Lifestyle, nutrition, hormonal fluctuations and family history all contribute. Without early guidance, these conditions progress silently until they cause sustained absence.

Cardiovascular health

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women globally, yet it remains dramatically under-recognised as a women's health issue by employers. Risk factors including high blood pressure, high cholesterol and insulin resistance often develop asymptomatically over years. Understanding personal numbers and risk factors early gives women the knowledge to make meaningful lifestyle changes and seek appropriate care.

Perimenopause and menopause

Brain fog, mood changes and fatigue during the menopause transition directly impair the cognitive demands of senior finance roles. Without specialist support, the cumulative effect becomes unsustainable - and resignation becomes the outcome your retention data eventually reflects.

Reactive benefits are not enough

Standard corporate health benefits are inherently reactive. An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) is designed for crisis moments. Occupational Health engages after an employee has already gone on sick leave. For women managing symptoms in silence - which the data shows most do - these tools never activate at all.

Proactive women's health support changes the return on investment by:

• Identifying health risks before they escalate into absence or resignation
• Reducing presenteeism - the hidden productivity drain of employees who are at their desks but performing well below capacity
• Building the psychological safety that allows women to stay through life transitions rather than exit
• Improving talent retention at the life stages where attrition risk is demonstrably highest

Early intervention is consistently more cost-effective than managing the recruitment, onboarding and productivity loss associated with replacing experienced senior talent.

How Peppy closes the gap

Standard workplace benefits lack the depth and personalisation required to address the complexity of female health across a career. Peppy's Women's Health support, including the Women's Health MOT, is an expert-led, fully personalised health review designed to fill this gap.

Delivered through a secure, confidential app Peppy provides:

• One-to-one access to specialist clinicians across women's health, menopause, fertility, and pregnancy and parenthood
• Personalised health reviews covering gynaecological and hormonal health, lifestyle, family history, red flag symptoms and 'know your numbers'
• Proactive check-ins and long-term support that adapts as women move through different life stages
• One-to-one video consultations with qualified women's health practitioners

Book a call with the Peppy team to find out how Peppy supports women through every life stage.

"The best employees are going to go where the best benefits and support are and where they feel valued, and that's where we thought Peppy has a real part to play. We recognise there are gaps in the market. With Peppy, we're able to reach employees who would not otherwise get that support."
- Anna Cotgreave, Head of Benefits, Clifford Chance

Frequently asked questions: Women's health in financial services

Why are women leaving financial services at a higher rate than other industries?

Financial services roles demand sustained cognitive performance and emotional resilience - capabilities directly affected by unmanaged hormonal, gynaecological and fertility-related health conditions. Women are twice as likely as men to delay seeking medical help, meaning these issues escalate silently. Combined with a professional culture where health disclosure feels risky, the result is attrition that never surfaces the real cause in exit interview data.

What is the Women in Finance Charter, and how does health support relate to its targets?

The Women in Finance Charter is a commitment by financial services firms to improve gender balance at senior levels. Firms that sign up set public targets for female representation. However, when 1 in 4 women consider leaving work due to menopause symptoms and 17% leave employment within five years of childbirth, Charter targets and attrition reality are in direct conflict. Health support is not a separate issue from Charter progress - it is one of the most direct levers available to close the gap.

How does the Women's Health MOT work in practice?

Delivered through Peppy's secure digital app, the Women's Health MOT is a personalised health review covering gynaecological and hormonal health, lifestyle and emotional wellbeing, family health history, red flag symptoms and key health metrics. Employees receive a clear, practical action plan tailored to their symptoms, risk factors and life stage. Where clinically appropriate, they can access one-to-one video consultations with a qualified women's health practitioner, alongside educational resources and proactive follow-up support.