Female staff in a HFT's London office may have had a disappointing year
When we analyzed gender pay disparities among algorithmic trading firms in the UK in 2023, Jump Trading impressed for salaries but underdelivered on bonuses for women. Last year, the situation seemingly worsened.
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Gov.uk's gender pay gap reporting tool showed that women's median hourly pay at 'Jump Trading International Limited' was 23% lower than mens in 2024. This is a steep decline from 2023, where median pay was just 9% less. The mean disparity was smaller, 14%, indicating there are a few high-paid women swaying the average.
Women at Jump didn't fare much better in bonus terms. Mean average bonuses for women at Jump were 81% lower than bonuses for men in 2024 which is a slight improvement on 2023, where they were 83% lower. Jump Trading's pay quartiles reflect the disparity. Women made up just 6.2% of the top quartile of earners in 2024, but occupied 10.9% the year before.
The disparity appears to be due to a lack of senior female traders in the UK. One of the most experienced is Lydia Lian, who has been a quant researcher at the firm for over ten years after joining as a graduate. Other senior women at the firm work in its legal, HR and hardware engineering departments.
Even if you're not among the highest earners at Jump Trading, you're probably making good money; in 2023, Jump's UK staff earned $795k per head. In 2024, it also gave bonuses to 100% of its female staff, compared to 99.2% for men.
Nonetheless, the growing pay gap there highlights a talent problem in the HFT industry. Financial News reported yesterday that just 9% of algorithmic traders in the UK, roughly 100 people, were women. Virginie O'Shea, founder of capital markets technology firm Firebrand Research, said women are "judged against a different yardstick" when assessing their performance.
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