More women in board positions in the financial sector

Companies in the financial sector increased the proportion of women on their boards further in 2022, though women are still under-represented in top functions like CEO and CFO. Financial businesses are also growing their experience in sustainability, Financieele Dagblad reported based on consultancy firm EY’s Boardroom Monitor.

EY examined the boards of companies in the MSCI European Financials Index. Last year, companies in the financial sector appointed an equal number of women and men to their boards, increasing the percentage of women in boardrooms from 37 percent in June 2022 to 42 percent at the start of 2023.

While gender equality in boardrooms is steadily increasing, the number of women in CEO and CFO positions is still lagging behind. Of the current male board members, 62 percent hold or held a position starting with a C, compared to 51 percent of women.

Increasing gender diversity in the boardrooms is not only good for society but also for the companies' revenues, EY pointed out. Forty-four percent of investors in the financial sector cited diversity as an important criterion for investing in a company. Only 16 percent said it did not play a role.

Companies in the financial sector are also increasingly focusing on sustainability experience. At the end of 2022, nearly a third of the studied companies had board members with professional experience in this area, compared to 19 percent in June.

According to EY, there appears to be a connection between gender equality and experience with sustainability. That type of experience is most common among female board members: 72 percent of directors with expertise in sustainability are women.