Pension funds are leading the way to gender parity, but it's a slow journey
There may be a will but no clear way to gender parity in global financial institutions and central banks, according to a new report backed by Franklin Templeton.
The Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum’s Gender Balance Index for the second quarter of 2024 reveals that despite efforts to address the gender imbalance in the industry, there remains a long way to go.
The analysis of almost 400 institutions in the financial sector including central banks, commercial banks, public pension funds and sovereign funds found that of 63 new CEOs appointed in the past year, just nine were women.
Overall, pension funds appointed the highest share of women leaders at 22% ahead of central banks (18%), while commercial banks and sovereign funds added none. Pension funds also lead for overall share of female CEOs across the sample at 28% and is ahead on overall gender parity with an aggregate score of 48.
“2023 was an opportunity to move the dial on female leadership, however, it was missed in many instances,” said Clive Horwood, managing editor and deputy chief executive officer at OMFIF.
The Gender Balance Index has improved across several segments of the industry with more women in senior positions across central banks and top financial institutions this year with female representation at senior staff level above the 30% threshold for the first time (at 31%) up from 29% in 2023. But again, commercial banks are underperforming with the share of women across C-suite positions down to 15% from 18% in the previous year.
Jenny Johnson, president and CEO at Franklin Templeton says promoting gender diversity at every opportunity is key to addressing the imbalance.
“I believe you need to lead by example – something I strive to do daily. In many ways, it starts at the top, so I’ve made it a priority that DE&I is embedded into our corporate strategy,” she said. “I’ve also appointed a chief diversity officer as a direct report to me and invested in a team of seasoned global DE&I practitioners. DE&I is also reflected in the core values we instil throughout the organization.”
Johnson added that partnerships with external organizations and strong board representation of women and other underrepresented groups is also important.
