Research

Women in Financial Services (Quick Take)

Jun 29, 2020

GLOBAL

In Many Countries, Women Represent Nearly or Just Over Half of the Financial Services Industry
Women’s Share of Employment in Financial and Insurance Activities1
Country Year % Employed
Australia 2018 48.6%
Brazil 2019 49.9%
France 2019 56.6%
Germany 2019 51.3%
India 2018 16.8%
Italy 2019 45.1%
Japan 2018 52.2%
Netherlands 2019 37.5%
Singapore 2018 51.8%
Spain 2019 53.0%
Sweden 2019 48.9%
United Kingdom 2019 43.8%
United States 2019 54.3%
Few Women Reach Leadership Positions in Financial Services Across the World

Globally, women represented 12% of CFOs in large-cap firms and 34% of CFOs in mid-cap firms in 2018.2

In 2019, women’s global representation on executive committees in major financial services firms was only 20%, up from just 16% in 2016.3 Women’s representation by selected country:

Above or at the global average:
Australia (34%)
US (26%)
Singapore (23%)
UK (20%)
Hong Kong SAR (20%)
France (20%)
Below the global average:
Switzerland (17%)
Germany (15%)
Mexico (13%)
Italy (13%)
China (5%)
Japan (5%)

 

 

 

 

 

In 2019, women’s global share of board directors in major financial services firms was only 23%.4

In a 2018 global survey of firms in alternative investments (e.g., hedge funds, private equity and venture capital, private real estate funds), women accounted for only 13% of CEOs.5

  • Among these firms:
    • Over half (62%) have women in noninvestment leadership positions.6
    • More than a third (38%) include women on the firm investment committee.7
    • Nearly half (49%) offer flexible work arrangements.8
Women Are Less Likely to Receive Promotions and Sponsors

In 2017, the financial services industry in North America had a 24% gap between the rates of first promotions (from entry-level to manager) of women and men, despite asking for promotions at comparable rates.9

  • At 34%, the first-promotion gap is even greater between women of color and their male peers.10
  • Among entry-level employees, men are more likely than women to have managers and senior leaders act as sponsors—serving as advocates, providing advancement advice, and identifying opportunities.11

Women have higher representation in leadership roles that do not typically lead to promotion to CEO, such as heads of talent and marketing/business development.12

  • Operations experience is one predictor of successful candidacy for a CEO position. One-quarter of current CEOs had been COO just prior to becoming CEO, yet women represent only 11% of the current operations leadership pool.13

CANADA

Canada’s Financial Institutions Outpace Other Sectors

Finance and insurance ranks second among the industries with the highest percentage of women board directors in the Financial Post 500, at 33.1% in 2018.14

Among Canada’s six largest banks in 2018, women represented:15

  • 57.1% of the total workforce.
  • 37.7% of senior management.
  • 48.0% of middle management.
  • 47.7% of all professional jobs.

In 2020, 39% of board directors at Canada’s six largest banks were women.16

Women in the Labor Force in Financial Services in Canada, 201617
Occupation % Women
Financial managers 57.7%
Insurance, real estate, and financial brokerage managers 42.8%
Banking, credit, and other investment managers 56.2%
Financial and investment analysts 45.0%
Securities agents, investment dealers, and brokers 31.4%
A Gender Pay Gap Remains for Canadian Women in Financial Services
  • In the finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing industry, women’s average weekly wage in 2019 was CAD 1,091.01, compared to men’s average weekly wage of CAD 1,336.47.18

UNITED STATES

The Higher Up the Leadership Ladder, the Fewer Women
Women in the US Financial Services Industry, 201919
Accountants and Auditors 61.7%
Financial Managers 53.5%
Financial Analysts 34.2%
Personal Financial Advisors 32.1%

Compared to other industries, the financial services industry had the highest number of women CFOs (18) in 2019 in the Fortune 500 and S&P combined.20

  • A Korn Ferry analysis of the US’ 1,000 largest corporations over eight industries showed just 8% of CFOs in finance were women in 2019.21

In 2019, fewer than a quarter (21.9%) of senior leadership roles within financial services firms were held by women. Current growth projections of 31% by 2030 are still far from parity.22

In the banking and consumer finance industry women are just at parity (50%) for entry level positions, but a gender gap gradually increases along the leadership pipeline, from 42% of managers to 27% of senior vice presidents.23

A Gender Pay Gap Persists for Women Working Across All US Financial Occupations
Median Weekly Earnings in 201924
Occupation Women Men
Accountants and Auditors $1,141 $1,419
Financial Managers $1,207 $1,897
Financial Analysts $1,386 $1,763
Personal Financial Advisors $1,232 $1,905

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Catalyst, Quick Take: Buying Power.

Catalyst, Quick Take: Women in Accounting.

20-first, 2018 Global Gender Balance Scorecard: Financial Services Top 20: Progress, But Women Still Short-Changed (April 2018).

Veronica Dagher, “Clients Want to Work With Female Advisers, and Firms Are Taking Notice,” The Wall Street Journal, August 24, 2019.

Ratna Sahay and Martin Cihak, “Women in Finance: A Case for Closing Gaps,” IMF Staff Discussion Note (International Monetary Fund, September 17, 2018).

Egon Zehnder, “Female CEOs and CFOs in Global, 2018,” 2018 Global Board Diversity Tracker (2018).

Jeff Sommer, “Who Runs Mutual Funds? Very Few Women,” The New York Times, May 4, 2018.

Note: Because there is no single official definition of “financial services,” it is difficult to answer the question, “How many women are in financial services?” with a single figure or statistic. Rather, we often point to specific occupations that fall within the field of financial services—such as financial advisors, bankers, and hedge fund managers—when broader data is not available.

 

How to cite this product: Catalyst, Quick Take: Women in Financial Services (June 29, 2020).

  1. International Labour Organization, “Employment by Sex and Economic Activity (Thousands)—Annual,” ILOSTAT.
  2. Jessica Clempner, Michelle Daisley, and Astrid Jaekel, Women in Financial Services 2020: A Panoramic Approach (Oliver Wyman, 2019): p. 18.
  3. Jessica Clempner, Michelle Daisley, and Astrid Jaekel, Women in Financial Services 2020: A Panoramic Approach (Oliver Wyman, 2019): p. 6.
  4. Jessica Clempner, Michelle Daisley, and Astrid Jaekel, Women in Financial Services 2020: A Panoramic Approach (Oliver Wyman, 2019): p. 6.
  5. Camille Asaro and Kelly Rau, The Call to Act: Women in Alternative Investments, Sixth Edition (KPMG, February 2019): p. 42.
  6. Camille Asaro and Kelly Rau, The Call to Act: Women in Alternative Investments, Sixth Edition (KPMG, February 2019): p. 4.
  7. Camille Asaro and Kelly Rau, The Call to Act: Women in Alternative Investments, Sixth Edition (KPMG, February 2019): p. 4.
  8. Camille Asaro and Kelly Rau, The Call to Act: Women in Alternative Investments, Sixth Edition (KPMG, February 2019): p. 4.
  9. Stacey Chin, Alexis Krivkovich, and Marie-Claude Nadeau, Closing the Gap: Leadership Perspectives on Promoting Women in Financial Services, (McKinsey & Company, September 2018): p. 5.
  10. Stacey Chin, Alexis Krivkovich, and Marie-Claude Nadeau, Closing the Gap: Leadership Perspectives on Promoting Women in Financial Services, (McKinsey & Company, September 2018): p. 5.
  11. Stacey Chin, Alexis Krivkovich, and Marie-Claude Nadeau, Closing the Gap: Leadership Perspectives on Promoting Women in Financial Services, (McKinsey & Company, September 2018): p. 12.
  12. Alison Rogish, Stacy Sandler, and Neda Shemluck, Diversifying the Path to CEO in Financial Services (Deloitte Insights, 2020).
  13. Alison Rogish, Stacy Sandler, and Neda Shemluck, Diversifying the Path to CEO in Financial Services (Deloitte Insights, 2020).
  14. The Conference Board of Canada, Annual Report Card 2018: Advancing Diverse Leadership on Canada’s Corporate Boards (2018): p. 14–15.
  15. Canadian Bankers Association, “Focus: Representation of Women at Banks in Canada,” Banking Basics (January 14, 2020).
  16. Canadian Bankers Association, “Focus: Representation of Women at Banks in Canada,” Banking Basics (January 14, 2020).
  17. Statistics Canada, “Occupation—National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2016 (693A), Class of Worker (5A), Labour Force Status (3), Age (13A) and Sex (3) for the Labour Force Aged 15 Years and Over in Private Households of Canada, Provinces and Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2016 Census—25% Sample Data,” Data Tables, 2016 Census (2019).
  18. Statistics Canada, “Table 14-10-0064-01 (Formerly CANSIM 282-0072): Employee Wages by Industry, Annual” (2020).
  19. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Table 11: Employed Persons by Detailed Occupation, Sex, Race, and Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity, 2019,” Current Population Survey (2020).
  20. Crist Kolder Associates, CRIST|KOLDER ASSOCIATES Volatility Report 2019 (2019).
  21. Jane Stevenson and Dan Kaplan, “Women C-Suite Ranks Nudge Up—a Tad,” Korn Ferry.
  22. Patty Danielecki and Tiffany Ramsay, Within Reach? Achieving Gender Equity in Financial Services Leadership (Deloitte Insights and 100 Women in Finance, 2019): p. 2.
  23. Rachel Thomas, Marianne Cooper, Ellen Konar, Ali Bohrer, Ava Mohsenin, Lareina Yee, Alexis Krivovich, Irina Starikova, Jess Huang, and Delia Zanoschi, Women in the Workplace 2019 (Lean In and McKinsey & Company, 2019).
  24. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Table 39: Median Weekly Earnings of Full-Time Wage and Salary Workers By Detailed Occupation and Sex, 2019,” Current Population Survey (2020).