2024-03-19 10:51:00
Is finance a male world? Not if we are to believe Equileap’s latest study on gender equality in the workplace, carried out among 3,795 companies listed on the stock exchange on 27 markets and representing 103 million employees.
The financial sector is even the one that employs the most women, with a representation of 51%, far ahead of the average for all companies of 38%. But this numerical superiority does not prevent men from remaining dominant!
“Finance is the least performing sector in terms of progression of women from the bottom of the ladder to senior management,” underlines Equileap. Thus, only 31% of senior executives in finance are women (compared to 27% overall). These only represent 23% of executive committees and 32% of boards of directors (compared to 22 and 30% overall). Finally, a small 7% of financial companies (i.e. 38) have a woman at their head. A small proportion, but which corresponds to the average of other sectors of developed markets, nuance Equileap.
Such an imbalance generally results in lower pay for women, even if the study does not detail them.
Equileap just observes that only 41 companies out of 3,795 have closed the pay gap between men and women. In this area, a very practical opacity remains essential. Thus, 67% of companies worldwide do not disclose information on disparities between men and women. Finance does a little better, since the proportion keeping secret is 60%.
Also read: French banks want to promote more women at the top
Un score honorable
However, everything is not so dark. Compared to other sectors, finance does not stand out. Thus, the sector is the fourth best performing, with an average score of its companies of 46%. It is placed behind utilities (50%), basic consumer goods (47%) and communication services (46%).
In addition, thirty financial companies are among the top hundred global companies in terms of gender equality. The top group in the sector – second in the overall ranking – is Storebrand, a Norwegian bank, which has a gender equality score of 79%, one point behind the top performer. The second is the German insurer Allianz, with 76% (11th in the overall ranking). On the next three steps are three Australian banks, Westpac, Commonwealth Bank and Challenger, with 74%.
Among the European establishments appearing in the top 100 are also two French banks: BNP Paribas and Société Générale. Other financial companies in this elite group are UBS, DNB, Standard Chartered, UniCredit, Avanza, BBVA, Lloyds Banking Group, Abrdn, Schroders, Aviva and Natwest Group.
Finally, note that six financial companies achieved gender balance at four levels of hierarchy, out of 32 across all sectors. These good performers are Storebrand, Admiral Group, National Bank of Canada, Lloyds Banking Group, Sparebank 1 Ostlandet and Heartland Group Holdings. Examples to follow!
Also read: Kim Fustier: “A rollback on teleworking in banks would penalize women”
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