Breaking barriers: the ongoing journey towards gender equality in finance

Every year, at the start of March, we celebrate the role of women. Whether it’s women in the workplace, women who have supported us, or the women in our extended families – we celebrate everything that girls and women are, everything they aspire to be, and shine a spotlight on why diversity, equity and inclusion are so important.

Yet while International Women’s Day allows us to hear the powerful stories shared by women across the world, the reality is that those messages can quickly fade amidst the corporate noise that follows. The advancement of women in finance must remain a priority – not just for a single day, but as part of a sustained effort to drive meaningful, long-term change. While progress has been made, achieving true gender parity in the industry requires bold, transformative action from the leaders within the sector.

The need for change in the financial sector

Research tells us that men and women start their finance careers on relatively equal ground. In fact, if we look at the numbers on paper, we will find more women employed in some financial institutions compared to men. However, fewer women are in leadership and decision-making roles. The C-suite remains disproportionately male-dominated and women often remain in administrative or customer service/bank teller type roles, despite the same proportion of men and women going on to complete their MBA.

As such, there remains an opportunity to see women better represented throughout financial organisations. Indeed, this was the thinking behind the creation of the UK HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter back in 2016, which asks firms to commit to set and publish internal targets for gender diversity in senior management positions in finance and publicly publish their progress against these.

As of March 2024, when the most recent review was published, 400 firms across financial services with headquarters in the UK, USA, Europe and Asia, had signed up to the Women in Finance Charter and 36% of these firms had met their gender diversity targets. According to the report, “Female representation in senior management edged up to from 34 percent in 2022 to 35 percent in 2023. If this pace remains constant, signatories (those signed up to the charter) should achieve an average of 50 percent in 2038”. Progress is slow but steady, however, it’s clear that more can, and must, be done.

The role of mentorships

Mentorship is one such way to progress women further forward in the industry. Women in financial services (and the corporate world in general) need a “safe space” and a place of belonging to confide, be vulnerable and share their career aspirations with a role model. 

Mentoring and sponsorship creates an ideal environment to share goals and actively brainstorm/respectfully challenge ideas. In fact, it can become an ongoing ‘360 evaluation’ allowing an individual to see themselves and their work through others’ eyes. A place to ask for and receive candid feedback to help fuel personal growth.

Women should actively seek out mentoring opportunities – whether internally within their own organisation or through their wider network – and see where that relationship takes them. And whether that mentorship lasts years, months or a single session, it could be the difference that helps them take the next step in their career.

The value of professional empowerment

Indeed, empowering women to further their careers within finance could be highly beneficial. We live in a time where a vast majority of financial institutions recognise the importance of customer experience and the critical need to create forever customers by building/maintaining trust and creating personalised experiences. Central to this will be securing the loyalty of the female customer base.

Research tells us that upon death, financial assets are often passed to a spouse, ahead of the children. However, according to Schroders, 70 percent of women who inherit wealth from their husband leave their existing financial advisor and seek out different guidance and support.  As such, financial organisations need to start strategising about how to retain those customers – and their deposits/accounts/insurance policies. Key to this is recognising women as a key demographic.

Female bankers are well positioned to help deliver and build these types of relationships with female clients. Female bankers are less likely to overlook the female customer. They will make a connection earlier and understand the importance of managing the relationship with all parties. As such, financial organisations that empower their female employee base to create and deliver curated, individualised experiences for women clientele will rise above the competition. With women behind such change within an organisation, the knock-on effect will be to see females more equally represented at leadership level.

Next steps

International Women’s Day may have passed for another year, however, its core message must not be ignored in the months that follow. The outpouring from women across the world highlighting the progress towards gender equality is encouraging. However, more needs to be done – particularly within the financial services sector.

Financial leaders have a real opportunity to effect positive change. Whether through offering mentorships to female employees or committing to initiatives, such as the Women in Finance Charter, they can play a pivotal role in advancing gender equality – both in terms of female progression and better serving female customers.