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Women hold 19% of top roles at financial institutions. LONDON \u2014 The number of women holding top jobs at leading financial institutions has edged up to a record high, a new report has shown, suggesting diversity<\/a> is becoming increasingly embedded despite the political backlash in the United States.\n<\/p>\n The annual Gender Balance Index<\/a> by the London-based OMFIF think tank showed women now hold 19% of leading roles at central and commercial banks, sovereign and pension funds, up from 16% last year, helped by U.S. institutions like the Federal Reserve, where six of the regional bank heads are now women.<\/p>\n Based on data from\u00a0335 institutions, Wednesday\u2019s report showed, however, that the challenge of closing the gap with men remains significant.\n<\/p>\n The index\u2019s overall score of 44 out of 100 is still less than halfway to gender balance. The share of women holding broader senior roles inched up fractionally to 33% and it remains systematically difficult to land the top job, the research found.\n<\/p>\n \u201cEven with the rate of improvement seen in recent years, it would still take 22 years for the GBI score to reach an average of 100,\u201d said Andrea Correa, the report\u2019s author, adding it could take even longer.<\/p>\n Central banks<\/a> lead gains <\/p>\n Nevertheless, the improvement in North America \u2013 where the score has jumped to 82 \u2013 was reassuring given U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s push to curb diversity, equity and inclusion programmes.\n<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a little bit of a surprise,\u201d Correa said. \u201cInstitutions have had to be more careful with their public messages (about equality), but they are still committed to it.\u201d\n<\/p>\n The biggest improvement came at central banks where a record 35 of the 185 in the index are now female-led. Sovereign funds<\/a>, which manage a nation\u2019s wealth, also showed their biggest improvement in five years with the share of female CEOs up to 18%.\n<\/p>\n Glass ceiling intact <\/p>\n Commercial banks saw little improvement though with still just seven women CEOs out of the 50 surveyed. The number heading pension funds slipped to 11 from 12.\n<\/p>\n Talent pipelines also remain thin: the overall share of women in executive C-suite roles stayed at 20% and almost half of the commercial banks in the index still have no women in their C-suite.\n<\/p>\n The report also introduced a \u201cglass ceiling ratio\u201d \u2013 the degree to which women\u2019s representation narrows at the top of institutions.\n<\/p>\n
\nFederal Reserve<\/a> has six regional bank heads who are women.
\nCommercial banks<\/a> have only seven women CEOs out of 50.<\/p>\n