Women in Finance Charter: 2025 update

Starling became a founding signatory of the Women in Finance Charter in 2017, the same year our app launched. This voluntary commitment made by HM Treasury and signatory firms to improve the gender balance in the financial services industry is one of many things we’ve done to shift the dial.

We report on our progress every year as part of this commitment and to ensure ongoing transparency.

Of the hundreds of banks founded in the UK over time, just one was founded by a woman – Starling, in 2014 by Anne Boden. So striving for equality is nothing new for us; it’s central to who we are.

As well as advancing women’s careers, both within banking and tech (two male-dominated industries), we also look to support equality in other areas: closing the financial literacy gap between girls and boys, levelling the playing field in women’s football, and building a first-of-its-kind feature for people experiencing economic abuse.

Our target

When we signed up to the Charter in 2017, 27% of senior roles were filled by women. So we set a target of 40%,  well above the fintech industry average of 30%. Early on, we met this target and set a new one: 50% of women in senior positions by 2027.

Our 2025 data

Starling’s 2025 gender equality data shows that women make up:

• 45% of our total workforce (3,692 as of September 2025).

• 36% of our Executive team.

• 43% of our Board.

• 42% of our senior managers.

Growth and gender diversity

Starling’s continued growth – we now have more than 4,000 employees – creates opportunities for everyone. Right now, we’re giving particular attention to growing and developing our tech pipeline – only 26% of the tech workforce are women, but between April 2024 and April 2025, more than a third of our new tech hires were women. 

We are also so proud of our gender equality partnerships and employee-led networks, such as our:

• With Women network, which aims to nurture an environment where everyone can bring their true selves to work. With Women hosts regular talks with inspiring female leaders and women’s charities, runs a book club that shines a spotlight on critical women’s issues, and promotes awareness and action for the issues that are important for women at Starling.

• Charity partnership with Smart Works, which supports women seeking employment through expert interview coaching and an interview outfit that boosts their confidence. 

• Partnership with Surviving Economic Abuse saw us raise the bar for people, usually women, experiencing economic abuse. Our industry-first tool enables people to hide abusive payment references while still receiving money, such as child support, that they’re rightfully owed.

• Support for women’s football. Through Kick On with Starling, we’ve given away more than 10,000 free kits to girls’ and women’s grassroots teams – plus equipment and coaching vouchers. We’re also the front-of-shirt sponsor for Southampton FC Women, and together we’ve launched our Coaches of Tomorrow programme which aims to get more women into coaching, and the Scout School, which helps scouts identify talent in girls’ teams in Hampshire. Our latest partnership with Arsenal FC includes community projects that will support women and girls’ clubs in North London.