

This comes as a surprise to the many younger women entering the profession. The overt sexism of earlier times may have been stamped out, but unconscious biases and gender-role expectations that disadvantage women have not. Responses revealed a culture that has changed surprisingly little over the last 30 years. To find out, Oliver Wyman surveyed 850 financial services professionals from around the world (both men and women), interviewed over 100 senior female executives globally (C-suite and board members), and held focus groups with Millennial women working across a number of financial institutions in the U.S. What explains the poor career prospects of women in financial services? But now, five years into it, I am planning my escape.” One young female banker we interviewed for our 2016 report “Women in Financial Services” even told us, “I came into my career in financial services with aspirations to make it to the top. As a result, women’s prospects are significantly worse in financial services than in other sectors, a recent study conducted by our sister company Mercer discovered.

Women are far more likely than men to leave the industry or to reduce their level of ambition just at the point in their careers when they need to make the effort to push on to the top. financial firms are women.Ĭareer progression analysis also shows that at each level, men are promoted at materially higher rates than women. Only 12% of the chief executive officers of large U.S. An analysis that we conducted of disclosures made by 50 American financial services companies revealed that women occupy only 20% of executive committee roles and 22% of board positions. Bureau of Labor Statistics.īut this seemingly impressive statistic disguises an underlying lack of progress of gender equality in financial services. Women still aren’t making it to the top.
#WOMEN IN FINANCES PROFESSIONAL#
Today 47% of management and professional roles in American financial firms are occupied by women, according to the U.S. In the 1980s, however, pioneering women began moving into management roles and into frontline business areas, such as investment banking. This evidence strengthens the case for closing the gender gaps in leadership positions in finance.Financial institutions have been employers of women for decades: historically as tellers, secretaries, and junior administrative staff. This study also finds that a higher share of women on boards of banking-supervision agencies is associated with greater bank stability.

The analysis suggests that, controlling for relevant bank- and country-specific factors, the presence of women as well as a higher share of women on bank boards appears associated with greater financial resilience. It finds that, shockingly, women accounted for less than 2 percent of financial institutions’ chief executive officers and less than 20 percent of executive board members. The paper also studies the large gaps between the representation of men and women in leadership positions in banks and in banking-supervision agencies worldwide. More inclusive financial systems in turn can magnify the effectiveness of fiscal and monetary policies by broadening financial markets and the tax base. For example, women merchants who opened a basic bank account tend to invest more in their businesses, while female-headed households often spend more on education after opening a savings account. New evidence suggests that greater access for women to and use of accounts for financial transactions, savings, and insurance can have both economic and societal benefits. It could also contribute to more effective monetary and fiscal policy. Narrowing the gender gap would foster greater stability in the banking system and enhance economic growth. A new study at the IMF finds that greater inclusion of women as users, providers, and regulators of financial services would have benefits beyond addressing gender inequality. Women are underrepresented at all levels of the global financial system, from depositors and borrowers to bank board members and regulators. Staff Discussion Notes are published to elicit comments and to further debate. The views expressed herein should be attributed to the authors and not to the IMF, its Executive Board, or its management. Disclaimer: This Staff Discussion Note represents the views of the authors and does not necessarily represent IMF views or IMF policy.
