After a decade-long fight, the women’s suffrage movement was successful, and women were finally given their right to vote. The campaign wasn’t easy, but after many rejections and dismissals they were not disheartened and continued to fight for what they believed was right. Women have been fighting to receive the same opportunities and chances as everyone else for decades, yet still we see inequality making an appearance in the 21st century.
When we think of women in finance, we don’t often dwell on the likelihood of there not being many women in this industry. We generally assume that since society is evolving, then surely corporate businesses should be too, right? Yet when looking at the facts, it seems that our assumptions are far off the truth. The percentage of women in industries such as finance, is far lower than any other industry. Women and men generally start at the same level, but the chance of progression is much higher for men than it is for women. This is proven when looking at number of female leaders in the financial services industry. It remains to be at a dire 12%, regardless of organisations claiming they are diverse and have adapted to the rights that women deserve.
According to research, the percentage of men within this industry is at 61.5%, but how do we tackle this issue and make the number of women rise? Through introducing programmes that are dedicated to supporting women in finance, we are able to work towards the goal of improving those numbers and helping the industry to be more inclusive to the representation of women. By creating a balanced workforce, it gives businesses more of a chance for higher performance rates, it reduces the market volatility and there would be better productivity rates.
A woman’s touch can be described as comfort, it is seen to be something that brings light to families, a force that makes a house a home. If in all other aspects of life, it can be seen as something beautiful, something that is advantageous, why is it that in the case of growth and financial freedom, it is a disadvantage to see women progress. This is a stigma that we need to substitute with what is proven to be facts.
One advantage alone of women in high positions is the need for executing a more ethical nature in the industry of finance. There are notable differences between men and women in qualities such as, compassion, empathy and diversity. By involving both genders in roles such as decision-making, you can see that women contribute largely towards dealing with difficult personal issues, they are more inclined to resolving and preventing conflicts, they pay closer attention to the needs of their clients and make much more effort to remain in union. A recent 2019 study from S&P Global Market shows that within 24 months of choosing a female chief financial officer, the company profit numbers rose by an average 6% and stock market returns improved by 8%. Comparing this to their male predecessors gives you an insight into just one of the benefits of gender diversity in finance.
By claiming to be an inclusive and diverse society, we then take the responsibility upon ourselves to raise the issues we ignore or turn a blind eye to. We must educate ourselves in order to help ourselves.
Authored by A Person On Their Grind!