“You can’t have one specific industry being dominated solely by one gender, right?”
The financial industry has quite a reputation when it comes to gender diversity… and
unfortunately, it is not very good. Over the last couple of years, however, the number of
women working in the financial industry has increased, with a recent study by Catalyst
reporting that women made up 43% of the workforce in 2019. However, that is just the bigger
picture – delving deeper it becomes clearer that very few women, who work in the industry
manage to reach leadership, executive or even board positions. “Sadly, the financial
services sector is renowned for its lack of gender diversity, not just at executive and
leadership level but across all roles,” the Managing Director at Access2Funding, Dawn Coker,
told Finalto. “In 2019, women accounted for just 20% of major financial services executive
committees. What’s more, recent FCA data has revealed that male directors at FTSE 350
financial services firms earned 66% more than women on those boards last year,” she added.
Women made up only 20% of executive committees in major financial services firms and 17% of
FCA-approved individuals in 2019 – a figure that remains unchanged since 2005. In addition,
women in senior positions at UK financial firms tend to represent support functions rather
than profit-gathering ones, according to the Female FTSE Board Report, 2017. “I think [now],
the financial industry is more open to women in the industry and in senior positions.
Especially, in newer types of financial entities that are operating mainly in CFDs or
cryptos, we see women not dominating the area but having more senior positions and actually
being heard,” the Chief Compliance Officer B2C at Finalto, Klelia Orphanidou, said. In June
2021, the European Central Bank (ECB) proposed using gender diversity among the criteria for
approving board members at the banks it supervises; a first step into increasing
representation in a male-dominated industry. A second step – “Financial services
organisations themselves need to be proactive in driving change within their business and in
building a culture of inclusion and fairness. The core values of a company should include
honesty and integrity, communication, diversity and respect,” Coker noted. But why does all this matter? Studies conducted by the
International Monetary Fund suggested that increasing women’s access to and use of financial
services can have both economic and societal benefits. “More inclusive financial systems in
turn can magnify the effectiveness of fiscal and monetary policies by broadening financial
markets and the tax base,” the research noted. Coker added that women in finance offer more
diversity and creativity, which show a better reflection on a company’s client base.
“Enhancing workplace equality and fairness will bring about an increase in empowerment,
improved productivity, and, hopefully, will lead to more females developing within their
careers. It can also inspire creativity and innovation amongst the team, improve the
workplace culture, as well as pave the way for other organisations to follow suit in being
gender-inclusive. “Males and females offer different perspectives on matters too and are
often great collaborators,” Coker noted. Orphanidou agreed: “You want to ensure that people
are voiced properly, but also women and men… their way of thought is very different, can
raise and have a lot of different inputs as to the strategy of the company or the direction
and the products they should offer. And also, you can’t have one specific industry being
dominated solely by one gender, right?” Orphanidou raises an important question: why is
finance a male-dominated industry? The lack of female role models, long and intense working
hours as well as the lack of management support are all reasons as to why the industry is
struggling in terms of gender equality. An unsupportive work environment can also have a
heavy toll on mental health, which leads to many women quitting their positions in the
financial industry in search for something better. Coker explained that she too had faced
gender specific challenges after facing an early menopause at the age of 37 when she was
working in the banking industry and was met with unsupportive and dismissive colleagues.
“Predominantly a male environment, it was almost a joke to some, and I believe a lack of
education around female health issues played a large part in how I was treated, along with
the stigma that is attached to menopause.” Orphanidou, on the other hand, noted that she was
lucky to be thrown into a supportive and empowering work environment from the very beginning
of her career in the finance sector: “I work at an organisation which I think is quite open
to having women in leading positions. If you look at the structure of the company you will
notice many women are working in finance and marketing, not just HR or compliance.” Despite
that, Orphanidou adds that there is still a lot to be done to achieve change in the industry
and this change should be implemented from school. “When women finish school, usually they
are directed towards a different kind of career, not so much in the financial industry. I,
myself, studied law and found this opportunity by chance. So, for me, it’s really about
awareness and education, but from early stage.” Coker noted that to improve gender diversity
“and ultimately achieve a larger pool of potential female leaders in finance, significant
cultural changes need to happen in-house. “Financial services firms need to implement
adequate support for women, from a menopause policy to support for working parents … In my
experience, being a woman can prevent you from going for a promotion or for being considered
for one in this sector due to the glass ceiling that exists.” Flexibility in working hours,
to understanding that women oftentimes act as caregivers in their own families, will help
women feel more wanted and appreciated in the industry. “It’s really important that
financial services organisations understand the marketplace and the needs and requirements
for women, and that they are very different to men, but they should not be a barrier.” In a
few final words, Orphanidou gave some advice to women, who are thinking of pursuing a career
in finance. “Any woman that wants to develop in this industry has to work hard – maybe even
harder than men. But if you work hard, you will definitely get to where you want to be. And
if you feel like you are in a company that does not promote equality you must move on,
because there are companies in this industry that really invest in women, their education
and personal development.”
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