- The Prudential Regulation Authority wants to ‘encourage equality and diversity’
- It will ditch the title ‘chairman’ and instead use the gender-neutral ‘chair’
- Sources said there was little the Bank could do about its nickname as it’s historical
It is fondly known as the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street. But the Bank of England may have to lose its nickname under plans for the 323-year-old institution to go gender neutral.
The Prudential Regulation Authority, part of the bank which polices financial firms, said it wants to ‘remove gendered language to encourage equality and diversity’.
It will ditch the title ‘chairman’ and instead use the gender-neutral ‘chair’ and also plans to stop using ‘his’ and ‘her’ when referring to senior figures in its reports.
The Bank of England may have to lose its nickname under plans for the 323-year-old institution to go gender neutral
And ‘grandfathering’ – an expression used when it is agreed that old rules will still apply to past situations even after new rules are introduced for future cases –will be replaced by ‘conversion’.
Veteran City commentator David Buik, analyst at stockbroker Panmure Gordon, said: ‘Words fail me. This is so unnecessary. What are we to call the Old Lady now? The Old Person? This is political correctness going in to orbit.’
James Price, campaign manager at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘With a host of pressing issues in Britain today, it’s baffling to see the Bank spend time on this.’
The Bank insisted that the title Governor is gender neutral and would continue to be used. Mark Carney is the Bank’s 120th Governor since it was set up in 1694. All have been male.
Sources conceded there was little the Bank could do about its nickname. ‘The Old Lady is a nickname which was given to us and is historical, not official,’ one said.
The proposals stem from changes to the PRA’s certification documents for those working in financial services. It said the alterations ‘form part of the PRA’s commitment to encourage equality and diversity.
The changes come as the Bank faces mounting pressure to improve diversity among its own ranks at a time when men dominate its top jobs.
The Governor and the four deputy governors are all men and there is only one woman on the nine-strong monetary policy committee that sets interest rates.
Nicky Morgan, the former Cabinet minister who heads the Treasury select committee, has twice warned in recent months that the Bank needed to improve diversity at the top of its organisation.
How Old Lady of Threadneedle Street got her name
The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street nickname has its roots in a 1797 cartoon by James Gillray.
Titled ‘Political Ravishment, or The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street In Danger!’, it shows then prime minister William Pitt the Younger trying to woo an older woman, representing the Bank.
His true intention is to get his hands on the Bank’s gold reserves, shown as gold coins in the woman’s pocket and the money-chest she is sitting on.
As Pitt leans in to embrace her, she can be seen crying: ‘Oh you villain! What have I kept my honor [sic] untainted for so long, to have it broken up by you at last?’
Her gown is made of £1 and £2 notes which had been issued to replace gold coins in circulation.
