The tone is set at the top of firms, but all staff need to speak up and management should consider setting quotas, speakers have told a Luxembourg panel event on gender balance in the financial sector.

The panel, entitled “Gender balance starts at the top – when top management leads, gender balance succeeds,” was organised by Fondsfrauen, a networking group for female employees in the financial sector, primarily in the funds industry, at its Summer Party held at Spuerkeess’ building on Avenue de la Liberté in Luxembourg City on Thursday.

“The top of the house has to make it a priority” and “must deliver the message,” said Anne-Pascale Malréchauffé, head of regulatory strategy & compliance at Clearstream Banking.

While empowerment comes from the top and management needs to “open the door,” said Angela Maria Summonte, director of key client partnerships at Alter Domus, a fund services provider, striking gender balance was a “team effort”.

Regular members of staff need to get involved, in addition to their normal duties, and act as a voice for women’s challenges and facilitate opportunities for their colleagues, she said.

Quotas or no quotas

The subject of imposing mandatory quotas divided the panel, with Summonte in favour of the move. Without clear guidelines, it is difficult to implement change, she said. “Quotas give a chance to everyone”, said Summonte, adding that they ensure an “equal opportunity” to those who are underrepresented.

Quotas are “always a delicate question,” Malréchauffé commented, noting that colleagues may question or resent a woman who got “the job because of a quota.” Imposing quotas simply gives an opportunity to women who are “still competent”, said Malréchauffé.

Under European rules, 40% of non-executive directors on the boards of listed companies should be women by 30 June 2026, noted Belinda Henig, head of legal and corporate secretariat at Sparinvest, an asset manager.

The directive states that a third of all board members at large listed companies should be women, but the new rules will impact few firms in Luxembourg.

Most countries do not impose national quotas. In the Grand Duchy, 40% of board members at publicly-controlled organisations need to be female, a target that has nearly been achieved.

However, just one in five managers in Luxembourg is a woman, the lowest share of any EU country and a rate which has remained unchanged over the past decade, according to a Eurostat study published earlier this year.

The panel were divided on the subject of quotas © Photo credit: Fondsfrauen

The UK and US do not have legal quotas, Henig observed. Nevertheless, targets are “pushed” by large institutional investors, she said.

“It’s good to have the pressure,” Henig stated. “It ensures the shift.” Without quotas, “it would take more time” to achieve equality. “It would be nice if we didn’t need them in a few years.”

Uschi Keufen, head of HR at Amundi Luxembourg, a fund firm, preferred that “we changed minds” rather than set quotas.

Nevertheless, she would like recruitment short-lists to include a balance of men and women, and then let leaders “take the best” candidate for the job.

Role models

“Role models are important,” Malréchauffé said, who cited the motto, “you cannot be what you cannot see.”

Malréchauffé suggested setting up a pool of female talent to tap for internal moves. Having a “succession pipeline,” Keufen said, means “the next opportunity could go to a woman.”

It was important to create a space, Malréchauffé said, where female managers can share their experiences with younger and mid-career staff, including their setbacks and how they handled them.

Opportunities and recognition

Offering praise to colleagues, Summonte suggested, “in a loud and clear way” and in front of senior management, was a good way to give recognition to the work of women in a company.

Malréchauffé advised taking rising talents, both women and men, “to important meetings” and put them in a position where they see what is required to perform at the next few levels. “Bring them with you,” she told the audience.

Women also need to claim credit for their own achievements, instead of deflecting it as “luck” or a “team effort,” stated Manuela Fröhlich, one of Fondsfrauen’s co-founders. “If you had a success, it was you,” she said. “Own your story.”

Fondsfrauen is a networking and mentorship platform for women working in the financial industry, primarily in the funds sector. It holds “more than 70 events per year” in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Luxembourg, Fröhlich said at this week’s session. Its events in the Grand Duchy are held in English.

There are more than 5,000 women active in its community, including roughly 750 in Luxembourg.