Women are being under-represented in the UK banking sector with just 11 per cent of corporate managers and senior executives being female.

Research by the Institute of Leadership and Management questioned over 800 banking employees in various roles.

It found that, despite over half the workforce in financial services being female, just one in ten females were senior managers compared to a national average in other sectors of 28 per cent.

Almost half of the women surveyed were working in junior roles such as administration, secretarial, customer services and sales roles. The research also suggested banks were struggling to attract women onto their graduate trainee programmes where career progression was expected.

There was also strong belief that the so-called ‘glass ceiling’ existed, especially at higher levels of management hierarchy, with 65 per cent of women in middle management roles citing barriers to progression such as senior male attitudes, organisational culture and lack of flexible working opportunities.

Women were often the first to lose their jobs with 12.5 per cent of women losing their jobs between 2007 and 2010 compared to 8.8 per cent of men.

The research recommended that, in order to improve the ratios, banks should make senior women more visible within the firm to provide female role models, attract more female graduates to the firm to make banking a desirable career for women, encourage flexible working and introduce more sponsorship and mentoring for women.