Women working in financial services could unlock up to £147bn of value for the UK economy by 2035 if wages increase and the gender pay gap shrinks, according to a report by the London Stock Exchange.

Analysis from the Centre for Economics and Business Research on behalf of the UK exchange found the contribution from women in the City to gross domestic product has nearly tripled from £22.6bn in 1997 to £64bn in 2022 – some 35% of the total UK finance sector’s gross value added.

Adjusting for inflation, this would amount to a £1.1tn “gender diversity dividend”, according to the figures released on International Women’s Day.

LSE chief executive Julia Hoggett said the near three-fold increase in value added over the past 26 years, which has been driven by higher wages and productivity as participation of women in the industry ramped up, “should make every politician working to solve the UK’s productivity puzzle sit up and take note”.

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