Almost a quarter of board directors at European capital markets companies are women, and about 16 percent of executive committee members are female, according to New Financial. Released at the start of 2016, a New Financial report found that more women were joining executive committees and boards. Compared to 2015, the number of women on boards has increased by 3 percent, while the number has risen by 1 per cent on executive committees.
Even with the positive news, there still remains some disparity in some areas of the financial sector. Representation in hedge funds and private equity firms is still poor. On the other hand, pension funds and investment banks have shown to be more favourable towards women, with many of these institutions having women make up at least 30 percent of the boards.
According to the report, executive committees have been slow to take up women, who make up about 10 percent of such committees at investment banks. Executive committees on trade bodies are more favourable to women, who hold a third of the seats.
Addressing the issue
As in many other countries in the world, the UK financial sector has taken notice of the gender gap issue and is working to address it. Lloyds Banking Group, for instance, set a target of having women hold 40 percent of senior positions by the year 2020. The British Bankers’ Association, while recognising the strides the banking industry has made, also made it clear that companies and institutions cannot be satisfied with current levels. The Royal Bank of Scotland, a major player in the UK financial scene, has also earmarked 2020 as the target to have 30 per cent of its executive leadership roles held by women.
While setting such targets within companies may eventually work, companies can also look to bring in professional consultants to help identify qualified female talent. Global professional services consultancy, Procorre, has helped more than 1,500 highly skilled and experienced consultants work on projects across various industries, including finance and understands the importance of tackling gender disparity in the work place.
Time for change
In tackling the gender disparity at executive level positions, it’s important that a company understand some of the reasons why it is an issue in the first place. Some argue that this is because many women are reticent when it comes to openly asking for promotions, believing their good performance should speak for itself. However, top level decision makers may interpret this silence as a lack of ambition.
Some companies also fail to understand that men and women have different career lifecycles. Executive decision makers tend to recognise leadership candidates when such people are in early to mid-30s. However, this policy can leave out some women who might have taken time away from work to have children.
At the board level, some members might be unwilling to accept change. While the CEO might want to push for more women representation at that level, it might not be surprising to find that some of the board become resistant to such attempts. A CEO needs the numbers to support their point of view if they are to make the change.
A new dawn
Tackling the corporate gender imbalance may need companies to change how they view leadership. For starters, leadership shouldn’t be confined to a particular position (CEO) argues Richard Hytner of Saatchi & Saatchi. Rather, it is possible to have individuals make insightful leadership input from other roles within a company, including operations, technology, and finance. If companies can start looking at leadership as a lateral journey rather than a vertical one, they will quickly realise that both men and women can make a serious impact in leadership roles away from the title of CEO. Aspiring leaders should know there are other leadership roles that aren’t necessarily at the very top.
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