Finance is an industry revolving around managing money and allocating funds for companies and projects. The industry has many branches, including banking, credit, investment, asset management, and so on. These are further categorized into personal finance, corporate finance, and public finance.

With the growing importance of women’s empowerment in the current climate, women’s financial statistics pose essential questions on the proportion of women and their attained education in finance. This article mainly focuses on these statistics in the year 2022.

 

Women in Finance Statistics in 2022

 

Key Facts

 

How Many Women Are in Finance?

Women take part in the finance industry throughout the world. A global report on gender diversity by Deloitte showed the percentage of females that make up part of the leading financial roles globally in 2021. They only considered the positions women hold in top roles. Thus, it is not an exact indicator of the overall percentage of women in the industry.

The report dwelled on the rate of females in the industry based on three categories, board members, C-suite roles and CEOs.

  • The percentage of women as board members was 21%, which commonly includes advisory, governing or executive boards.
  • On the other hand, females had a 19% share in C-suite roles, which are high-ranking executive titles.
  • Finally, women only made up 5% of the CEOs in financial services.

How Many Women Are in Finance

Deloitte is an international service provider. Their services include ones relating to auditing, consulting, advisory and taxation. In order to better conceptualize the statistics of female participation in the industry, we will approach the topic by looking at it through the lens of different regions.

 

North America

In North America, the finance industry had a female participation rate of 30% of entry-level positions in 2021. Deloitte reported on the previous data, which can now help determine the proportion of women in the industry in 2022.

An interesting finding of the report was that women made up 30% of entry-level positions. In contrast, women only made up 17% of C-suite roles within firms, showing a decline in progress across the hierarchy in the industry.

However, the industry is expected to have a larger pool of females in leadership or higher-ranking roles. According to an article by the Quantic, “Why Are There So Few Women in Finance“, the number of females hired in C-suite level jobs was expected to rise by 7% by 2030.

The Quantic School of Business and Technology is an online source for an MBA and Executive MBA degree program.

 

South America

South America, comprising many countries, had limited data on the matter. It demonstrated statistics on the situation of females in the finance sector. The aforementioned global report on gender diversity in the finance industry showed that women made up 11.6% of C-suite positions and 17.8% of senior leadership titles in 2021 in South America. Here, senior leadership positions refer to CEO titles.

 

Europe

According to the global report on females in the finance sector, women had a significant portion in the finance industry. In 2021, women held 17.3% of C-suite roles in Europe and were expected to reach 23.4% in 2030. Moreover, 21.7% of the senior leadership was made up of women.

Global Data is a data analyzing and compiling company registered on the London Stock Exchange market. The company published a report on women’s representation in major European banks in 2021, where five banks were analyzed. The proportion of women as part of the workforce in these banks ranged from 52.6% to 57.8%.

In addition, statistics from Ernst & Young revealed that the European financial service’s new appointments for board positions were split evenly between genders in 2022 compared to last year. However, among such board members, fewer women were found to have previously held or holding C-suite positions at the time. A proportion of 51% of women and 63% of men were reported.

Ernst & Young is a multi-national company providing consultancy, assurance, and tax services.

 

Australia

Australia had limited data available on female participation in the finance industry. However, the global report showed Australia’s proportion of women in C-suite positions as 25% of the workers. On the other hand, 23.9% of women held senior position titles.

 

Asia

Following the trend of Australia and South America, Asia struggled to have relevant data on women in finance. The relevant data revealed that in Asia, women comprised 14.2% of C-suite positions and 18.5% of leadership roles in 2021.

 

Africa

Relevant data showed that in 2021, Africa had 18.1% of women in C-suite positions. At the same time, the finance industry had 28.3% of women in leadership roles.

 

Do Women Succeed in Finance?

According to Monster.com, a global medium for employment and providing career advice, women are more likely to make higher salaries in finance than in female-dominated industries. The article stated that women could avail of certified success. They could do this by undertaking qualifications and degrees, e.g. Masters of Business Administration (MBA) and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

It further suggested success in commission-only jobs, especially in offering financial planning. They stated that women could offer empathetic services and have a greater advantage in this expertise. The article also highlighted the need for women to have cooperative spouses. They play a role in dividing household labor so women can spend long hours at the office.

However, it also mentioned the downside of a career in finance. It stated that it was likely for male counterparts to earn more than their female co-workers.

Investopedia is a media forum on finance with multiple awards, such as Finance Content Marketing Award or Best in Business Awards, Newsletter, and Medium Division.

A 2022 report by Investopedia on the lack of women in finance showcased major challenges for women in the industry. While men and women joined the industry at an equal rate, C-suite positions were still male-dominated, as we have seen in previously mentioned statistics. The existence of this phenomenon suggests barriers for women in the industry.

Do Women Succeed in Finance

They further explained why women might face these hurdles on their way to success. Their reasoning is the lack of female role models for young girls to pursue or thrive in their careers. This makes it harder for women to navigate the path to the top.

Moreover, the article stated that women in the finance industry vocalize their struggle to find a work-life balance to segue into career growth comfortably. Similarly, others feel the lack of managerial support adds to the hurdles to financial success for women.

 

Women in Higher Finance Education

Higher education is the first step in transitioning from education to a career. This makes it quite relevant for us to look at how many women major in finance and achieve degrees, such as Bachelor, Master or PhD.

The Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice (JHETP) is a research publishing platform with articles found in Google Scholar. They published an article on their forum in 2019, analyzing women in finance majors.

Women in Higher Finance Education

In MBA admissions, women had a decreasing enrollment rate over the course of 5 years, according to a 2019 Forté report. It stated that in 2018, enrollment fell by 7%, while in 2019, it fell by 9.1%.

Forté Foundation is a non-profit association of leading businesses and business schools to empower women in the business fields. The foundation has 166 pioneer donors.

We can use a 2018 report by UDSspace to cover the climate of women’s lack of participation in achieving finance and economics degrees. We are using this report due to the lack of more recent relevant data. We will only focus on the attainment of financial degrees in the article. According to the report, in 2018, the percentage of women earning PhDs increased from 12% to 35% within 20 years.

UDSspace is a digital platform collecting and storing faculty research and university archival material. It serves as an online database.

The question of women’s education brings the question of whether women need these degrees. According to the report mentioned above, it is concluded that women who graduate with degrees in finance gain advantages in the form of better salaries or career opportunities. It states that the demand for individuals with undergraduate degrees is much greater.

 

Is There a Gender Pay Gap in Finance?

The gender pay gap is the difference between the average earnings of women and men in the workforce, which is usually expressed in a percentage of a currency, according to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency.

According to the Capital Monitor, the banking sector, a branch of the finance industry, has major inequality in its payment to men and women. The April 2022 report on the UK finance sector deduced that the finance sector had a wide gender pay gap. The difference between pay was more than twice as wide as in other sectors. Furthermore, it stated that firms paid men 24% more per hour than women, which meant women earned only £0.76 for every £1 a man earned.

Is There a Gender Pay Gap in Finance

Capital Monitor is a platform dedicated to monitoring the impact of finance and investment on the environment and society.

In addition to this, according to The Guardian, women earned two-thirds less than their male counterparts in the largest financial services firms. The article was published in 2021.

It further revealed that women female directors were paid 66% lower than male directors in the finance sector. The statistic is a result of 85% of women in these companies occupying non-executive roles, which are lower paying. The Guardian is a global news organization centered around journalism.

The Fintech Times is a newspaper providing information on financial technology in the current times. It is a global multi-media news outlet. It published an article on the finance industry having the highest pay gap alongside the insurance industry. The report revealed that British men in the finance and insurance sectors out-earned British women by 32.2%, which is significantly higher than in most other industries.

On top of that, according to PwC, the median average pay gap for financial services was 26.6% in 2020. The article also read that the movement in the financial services pay gap over the last four years has been at a negative 3%. Similarly, the range of mean pay gaps in financial services was between 17-32%. In contrast, the non-financial service sector’s pay gap had been between 4-25%

PwC is an organization providing auditing, assurance, and consulting services. They had 148,822 people join their member firms during FY22.

 

Why Are There Fewer Women in Finance?

In its article on the lack of females in the finance industry, Quantic explains why there may be fewer women in the finance sector. The article initially mentions the decreasing rate of women pursuing an MBA certification, which would enable them to have a finance career.

1.   Lack of Role Models

It further stated that the lack of female role models and the shortage of mentors in the industry discourage women from pursuing these careers and being able to see themselves in the industry. This is a recurring reason, mentioned by several sources, for why women may be hesitant to pursue a degree in the industry. A study cited by Quantic stated mentoring programs could result in a 9-24% increase in minority representation in managerial roles.

 

2.   The Lack of a Good Work-Life Balance

Another reason provided by the article was the difficulty or hassle women face in maintaining a work-life balance while juggling their jobs and household responsibilities.

 

3.   Self-Doubt and Slow Progress

Moreover, women also face problems in the form of competitiveness in the field. It stated women usually fall into self-doubt and refrain from applying for promotions.

 

4.   Work Overload

IE University held a panel in order to facilitate the discussions of gender inequality within the financial sector. According to a comment by a panelist, women may feel discouraged within the industry due to work overload, especially with tasks that are not expected of their male counterparts.

 

5.   Emotional Distress

Furthermore, the scarcity of female team members leads women to feelings of isolation, pressure, and stress.

Why Are There Fewer Women in Finance

 

6.   False Narratives

The women on the panel stated the belief of women struggling to manage parenthood and work was false, and they had many seniors who felt at ease with their balance.

IE University is an international university based in Spain, globally recognized as one of the top 30 universities for global employability.

 

Initiatives to Improve Women’s Standing in Finance

McKinsey & Company is a global consultancy firm. They published an article on promoting women in financial services in 2018. According to the article, the steps to achieve gender parity lay in the industry’s rebranding to suit women. They encourage the demonstration of women’s ability to thrive in the finance industry.

1.   Sponsorships

The article also suggested enhancing the quality of and access to sponsorships. After stressing the need for sponsors, the article states that expanding offerings for formal sponsors and mentorship programs is essential. Women in senior positions should have these programs tailored to their needs. It should be a priority for senior managers to either provide formal sponsorship or ensure the quality of those pursued by their junior and senior-level women.

 

2.   Eliminating Unjust Biases

Moreover, initiatives should be taken to eliminate bias within promotions, especially those based on gender, as female entry-level employees are 24% less likely to be promoted than their male colleagues of the same tenure. It vocalized that unconscious-bias training should be mandatory.

 

3.   Improving Work-Life Balance

The article also stressed how work-life balance was a consistent hindrance for women and their careers In finance and brought up the need for flexibility with their employees.

 

Conclusion

In summary, even in 2022, there is a disproportionately high rate of men in executive or higher-up positions globally, even with an almost equal rate of them joining the workforce of the finance sector. The rate of women in the workforce only lessens as you move up the corporate ladder.

Women face many barriers to succeeding in finance. One of the prevalent barriers is the lack of female role models in the industry.

Similarly, women in higher education also suffer due to the absence of female faculty members to pave the path and demonstrate the ability of women to progress in the finance sector. Furthermore, there is a clear need for women to pursue higher education for better salaries and career opportunities.

Many initiatives aim to improve women’s standings in the finance industry. This includes seminars on unconscious bias to equip women with the resources to move up in the industry through sponsorship programs.