The underrepresentation of women is common in senior positions at financial firms small and large alike. This might come from the legacy of what has not only been a male dominated society, but it probably also reflects an industry that is particularly resistant to change. Moreover, there are so few women in senior positions in finance because there have always been few women in finance.
In the Ritholtz wealth management Company, serving as example, only two out of 13 employees on its investment committee are women. A plausible explanation for this is that there are simply not many women in senior positions in all of business, and finance to a great extent mirrors that reality. However, there are signs of society evolving for the better.
In a study carried out last year by Morningstar, less than 10% of all U.S. fund managers were found to be women; women exclusively run about 2% of the industry’s assets and open-end funds. By contrast, men exclusively run about 74% of the industry’s assets and 78% of funds, with mixed-gender teams accounting for the balance.
According to Catalyst, there are now only 20 women chief executives of S&P 500 companies, down from 24 in 2015. CNN/Money notes “only 14.2% of the top five leadership positions” were held by women at these companies. Last year, women made up 17.9 percent of the directors of Fortune 1,000 companies.The number of female certified financial planners appears to have plateaued at about 23 percent.
Meanwhile, studies by Credit Suisse Research Institute have shown that increasing women on corporate boards is associated with better financial performance. McKinsey & Co. and Catalyst have reached similar conclusions.
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