From the beginning of the year through March, only 833 women applied for top jobs in the financial sector as opposed to 3,211 men, Bloomberg Quint reported today.
Many sectors are traditionally perceived to be male-centric. There is no clear indicator of why men have dominated them, but for many years, very few women have had substantial roles in them. Some of these are manufacturing, telecom, and finance. The culture of these industries has been relatively more demanding and has required employees to spend long hours at work. Has this led to a skewed gender ratio? Yes, as per a recent report.
Women formed only one-fifth of the applications to senior manager roles in the U.K. finance sectorOpens a new window , Bloomberg Quint reported today. The data validates the gender gap in this sector that has existed for a long time. The survey by Pinsent Masons shared that 833 women and 3,211 men applied for top jobs across the sector, indicating that the industry is still not poised for increased diversity and inclusionOpens a new window . This gap is further highlighted by recent legislation in the U.K. that asks big companies to disclose pay data ever year.
One of the stated reasons for the lack of women in top roles is because they want more flexibility due to their responsibilities at home. Other studies have also noted that the lack of female representation at the C-suite level in the financial sector is also stemming from unconscious prejudices. The European Central BankOpens a new window shared earlier this year that they have missed their own gender diversity target to increase women at the middle management level from 15% in 2013 to 35% in 2019. Oliver Wyman’s report on Women in Financial Services 2020Opens a new window covered 460 companies, 9,000 senior leaders, and 37 countries. Only 6% of women are CEOs. Only 9% of chair roles in boards are held by women.
However, with the pandemic shifting the way companies operate, companies in the financial sector have also seen a change in perception. There is a higher acceptance of remote working and work-from-home. Is this likely to result in a significant change in the number of women they hire?
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What Steps Are Being Taken to Close the Gender Gap in Leadership?
Financial services companies have got the opportunity to create flexible working practices. The pandemic can set the course for a more gender-balanced sector. What are some of the steps aimed towards closing this gap?
1. Providing board-level representation as mandated by law
California was the first state to mandate that public companies with main offices in the state must have at least one female board member by the end of 2019 and to have incremental increases by the end of 2021. Such legal requirements can ensure that financial sector companies also put in adequate effort to maintain the gender balance at the senior levels. Large banks such as Goldman SachsOpens a new window have also taken steps to move toward board diversity.
2. Making focused efforts toward equal leadership representation for all genders
Westpac Banking GroupOpens a new window has been a pioneer in promoting female leadership. They defined their goals, clear governance structures, inclusion champions, and specific leadership programs to undertake the journey of reaching 50% female leadership. Their flexible working policies have been so effective that 76% of women and 72% of men are now working flexibly.
3. Using technology to remove bias in recruitment
Several software are aimed at removing bias from the different functions of HR. For example, TalentGuard has launchedOpens a new window a new version of its succession planning software to reduce bias in succession planning and career pathing-related decisions. New tools can support blind review processes, which remove bias by “blacking out†personal information from recruiters or hiring managers.
There is also technology available to remove bias from reference checks that can prevent a tilt towards one gender. The reference-checking startup Crosschq’sOpens a new window platform focuses on the collection of candidate references by automatically reaching out for references and storing them, and ensuring unbiased reviews.
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While various tools and legislations are clearing women’s path to senior leadership, some social changes will also be required – starting with both partners participating equally in responsibilities at home, including chores and taking care of children. Following this change – which is expected to take a while to set in at a visible scale – the tech tools mentioned above readily available, the financial (and other previously male-dominated) sector will be empowered to begin its journey toward a more gender-balanced senior leadership team.