A Note About Women in “Financial Services”
Because there is no single official definition of “financial services,” it is impossible to answer the question, “How many women are in financial services?” with a single figure or statistic. Rather, we must look at specific occupations that fall within the field of financial services.
GLOBAL
Women Represent Nearly Half of All Employees in the Global Financial Services Industry
| Women’s Share of Employment in Financial and Insurance Activities | |
|---|---|
| Country | % 2016 |
| Finland | 58.8% |
| France | 57.2% |
| Germany | 50.3% |
| Italy | 44.1% |
| Japan | 52.2%a |
| Norway | 48.9% |
| Portugal | 42.0% |
| Spain | 51.3% |
| Sweden | 53.6% |
| Switzerland | 41.4% |
| United Kingdom | 43.5% |
a 2015 data.
Women’s Representation at Leadership Levels Remains Low in the Global Financial Services Industry
The Grant Thornton International Business Report reveals that women held 18% of global CFO roles in 2014.
- Women held 25% of senior management roles in the global Financial Services industry in 2014.
Only 4% of the 150 global financial institutions surveyed by Oliver Wyman in 2013 had women CEOs.
In 2016, 79% of women working in hedge funds, private equity, and venture capital, investments, or private real estate funds stated that their gender made success as a fund manager more difficult.
CANADA
While Canada’s Financial Services Industry is More Gender Diverse than Many, Women’s Representation has Hit a Ceiling
Canada was the third-highest ranked country for executive committee gender diversity after Norway and Sweden in 2013 but dropped to sixth in 2016 with the addition of new countries that were included in the analysis.
- Women held 20.8% of board seats in 2014 and 25% of executive committee seats in 2015.
Canada’s Financial Institutions Outpace Other Sectors
Canada’s financial institutions are leaders in advancing women to boards and championing gender diversity in general, outpacing businesses in other sectors.
In 2014, women occupied 34.5% of senior management positions and 50% of all middle-management positions at Canada’s six largest banks.
| Canadian Women’s Employment in Financial Services, 2016 | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | % of 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 Professional Occupations in Business and Finance industry classification, women’s average weekly wage in 2016 was C$1,236.94, compared to men’s average weekly wage of C$1,453.19.
UNITED STATES
The US Financial Services Industry Employs Many Women
| Women in the US Financial Services Industry, 2016 | |
|---|---|
| Accountants and Auditors | 61.3% |
| Financial Managers | 52.5% |
| Financial Analysts | 36.9% |
But US Women’s Representation in Financial Services Senior Leadership Roles Remains Low
- As of February 2015, there were only 58 women CFOs in Fortune 500 companies.
| Women in the US Commercial
Banking Industry, 2015 |
|
|---|---|
| All Employees | 56.7% |
| First/Mid-Level Officials and Managers | 48.0% |
| Executive/Senior-Level Officials and Managers | 30.8% |
| Women in US Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles, 2015 | |
|---|---|
| All Employees | 52.0% |
| First/Mid-Level Officials and Managers | 43.7% |
| Executive/Senior-Level Officials and Managers | 25.7% |
| Women in US Investment Banking
and Securities Dealing, 2015 |
|
|---|---|
| All Employees | 35.0% |
| First/Mid-Level Officials and Managers | 31.1% |
| Executive/Senior-Level Officials and Managers | 16.7% |
| Women in US Securities and Commodity Exchanges, 2015 | |
|---|---|
| All Employees | 30.8% |
| First/Mid-Level Officials and Managers | 27.4% |
| Executive/Senior-Level Officials and Managers | 12.8% |
Progress is Slow for Women Managers in US Private Equity, Venture Capital, and Hedge Funds
- Just 10% of all US fund managers were women in 2016.
- According to some studies, the likelihood of women serving in fund manager roles has declined since 2008.
A Gender Pay Gap Exists for Women Working Across All US Financial Occupations
| Occupation | Median Weekly Earnings in 2016 | |
|---|---|---|
| Women | Men | |
| Financial Managers | $1,157 | $1,670 |
| Financial Analysts | $1,252 | $1,747 |
| Personal Financial Advisors | $953 | $1,714 |
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Candice Morgan, Meryle Mahrer Kaplan, and Sylvia Apostolidis, Women and Men in Canadian Capital Markets: An Action Plan for Gender Diversity (Catalyst, 2012).
Madison Sargis and Laura Pavlenko Lutton, Fund Managers by Gender: The Global Landscape (Morningstar Research, 2016).
Oliver Wyman, Women in Financial Services 2016 (2016).
Catalyst, Gender Diversity on Boards in Canada: Recommendations for Accelerating Progress, commissioned by the Government of Ontario (2016).