Most financial firms and institutions signed up to a UK finance ministry backed charter met their 2020 targets for women in senior management as those who fell behind blamed hiring freezes due to Covid-19, a review said.

The fourth annual review from think tank New Financial for Britain’s finance ministry, said the Women in Finance Charter faced its biggest test yet after the Covid-19 pandemic struck in 2020, Reuters reported.

Over 70 of the 209 signatories, including the finance ministry, have met their self-imposed targets, or were on track to meet future targets, the review said. Just over 60 per cent of the signatories have set a target of at least 33pc of female representation in senior management.

A group of 81 firms were due to hit their target by the end of 2020, but 44 of them failed to do so, citing deliberately ambitious targets, and recruitment or promotion freezes due to Covid, the review said.