Over the past ten to fifteen years, the Financial Services industry has invested significant effort, time and money to implement structures and programs to make the workplace more “female friendly”: better maternity/parental benefits, job-sharing structures, leadership training for women, networking programs, etc. And yet, despite these efforts, the industry is failing to make meaningful progress on diversity and inclusion for women.
In fact, female representation at the executive committee level and on boards is less than 20% across the industry – and only 1.4% of CEOs of the S&P 500 financial companies are women. Moreover, at every level across the organization, women are entering at a slower rate and leaving at a higher rate than their male peers, even though they report similar ambition levels at the start of their careers. If things do not change, financial services will reach 30% female executive committee level representation only in 30 years from now.
So what is happening that the industry has been unable to make better progress on, despite recognition that a diverse workforce has numerous business benefits, and despite significant focus on this issue? To answer the question, the leading management consulting firm Oliver Wyman conducted extensive research, performed interviews with over 100 senior executives in over 20 Countries and held multiple focus groups with Millennial women working in the industry.
In this presentation, Ms. St-Onge will:
- Share key findings from the research, including experiences of Millennial women working in Financial Services
- Discuss the cost-benefit conflict faced by many women in the industry- and the underlying issues causing it
- Provide ideas and recommendations for the industry to make further (and faster) progress
Read the full event summary by clicking here.
For further information read the report here: Women in Financial Services
