Women and boards

A growing picture?

Hitting a high C

Diversity in C-suite and board positions continues to be a global focus for many companies and governments, particularly in financial services. While women constitute almost 40% of the global workforce, reaching that percentage of participation at senior levels remains a distant goal. Here we look at the latest trends of women in finance, as well as BNY Mellon’s own position, when it comes to female leaders in its business.

Women’s share of global C-suite positions in the financial services industry may be growing but their representation at such levels is likely to remain less than a quarter even in the next seven years, according to forecasts from Deloitte in its 2022 global report: “Advancing more women leaders in financial services”.

The Deloitte report noted 19% of global C-suite roles in the financial services industry were held by women in 2021 and just 5% were CEOs.¹ But geographically there are differences in forecast growth of these numbers.

Deloitte forecasts women in Europe will make up under 24% of senior leadership positions in financial firms by 2030; the US is predicted to reach 21.8%. At BNY Mellon, women make up 33.4% of its senior leaders globally (as of 31 December 2023).

Click below to hear BNY Mellon IM CEO Hanneke Smits talk about the role of the 30% Club.

The 30% Club is a global campaign led by chairs and CEOs taking action to address the lack of gender diversity on the boards of publicly listed companies. We are now looking ‘beyond the boardroom’ focused on raising the proportion of C-suite, executive committee and boardroom chair roles held by women.

The campaign is also dual-focused on both gender and race parity, because at its core the 30% Club is not a women’s campaign, it’s a business campaign.”

Hanneke Smits, Global Chair of 30% Club since February 2023.

BNY Mellon's female % stats (2023):

50% of CEOs at BNY Mellon IM and its 7 associated firms.

40% of the BNY Mellon board.

57% of the UK Mellon Fund Management board - including its independent chair.

At the 2023 Milken conference, Hanneke Smits, CEO of BNY Mellon Investment Management and global chair of the 30% Club, spoke on a panel about the face of the modern C-suite. (Click HERE for the panel).

There she highlighted the importance of getting to a minimum percentage for any underrepresented group to have their voices be heard. She says: “When you get 30% you get to a tipping point, not just for women but also for other minorities. However, this is very much a floor not a ceiling. Ultimately, we wish to get to parity.”

Smits says diversity within women in leadership roles is also important as they should reflect the communities and the organizations in which they are a part.

“When you have a more inclusive group of people sitting around the table, starting with gender, but also with other types of diversity, you just have more robust discussions leading to better business outcomes.”

Board positions across all types of companies are another area many are advocating for greater inclusion. In the UK, just four of the 585 companies listed on the FTSE All-

Share market had all-male boards and the proportion of women was 40%.² In 2023 the number of women leading companies in the Fortune 500 list surpassed 10% for the first in the list's 68-year history; 41 out of the S&P 500 companies had female CEOs.³

For companies within financial services the picture is mixed. According to a report from EY, board members across UK financial services firms stood at 43% female and 57% male (versus 58% male and 42% female in Europe as of 2022).⁴ In the U.S. the number of women on boards in financial services doubled between 2014 and 2021 to over 23%.⁵

Professional investors

As highlighted in BNY Mellon's “Pathway” report, the male dominance in the investment industry - and the advice industry - can be off-putting to some women.

Lack of role models within the industry was cited as a barrier in the “Pathway” research and also flagged in Citywire's annual “Alpha Female” report. In its 2022 report, Citywire noted the number of women fund managers worldwide will not reach parity with men until 2215. That is if growth continues at the current pace.

In the 2023 Alpha Female report, Citywire found the number of funds managed by women was fairly flat over the past year. Of 18,015 active managers in Citywire's own global database, just over 12% were women. The prevalence of this issue varies regionally. Citywire reported the US (11%) and UK (11.8%) lag compared to regions such as Taiwan (29%), Hong Kong (25%), Spain (21%) and Italy (20%).

Lisa Lewin, director in Prime Services at BNY Mellon | Pershing, says in the alternatives industry (such as hedge funds) it is recognized a diverse manager lineup fosters a greater variety of opinions and investment styles.

Source: Citywire 2023 Alpha Female report. May 2023.

While she notes it will take time before “Women in Alts” becomes a mainstream concept, momentum is building with growing demand from investors.

She says: “Our team recently surveyed investors to gauge their interest in women-led strategies.” Among the respondents, 73% reported such diversity was present in their portfolios now. Furthermore, 22% said they had increased the percentage of such strategies over the past five years, Lewin adds.

1. Deloitte Insights. Advancing more women leaders in financial services. June 2022. Deloitte’s report defines C-suite as those roles such as chief executive, chief finance officer or chief marketing; senior leadership is on–C-titled executives (e.g., line-of-business leaders, division chiefs or regional leaders). 2. The Guardian. More women on UK boards but number of female bosses flatlines. June 2023. 3. Fortune. Women CEOs run 10.4% of Fortune 500 companies. A quarter of the 52 leaders became CEO in the last year. June 2023; Catalyst. Women CEOs of the S&P 500. February 2023. 4. EY. UK financial boardrooms lead Europe in acceleration of female and sustainability appointments. January 2023. 5. Statista. September 2023

Voices from BNY Mellon - the value of mentors

"Last year I took part in an inspirational speed networking event to break down gender stereotypes and empower girls aged 11-16 years.

"I truly believe if you can see it - you can be it. It warmed my heart seeing the spark in the eyes of those young girls, who were learning about an array of

opportunities available should they join the financial services industry.

"Standing in front of them and having a real life conversation meant so much for these girls, and also myself. It reminded me, how important it is to be a responsible role model. Most importantly, don't neglect your life lessons that made you who you are, and share your background with them.

"Believe me when I say, their faces lit up learning that I didn't come from a privileged background and yet I work in a bank."

Elina Ozola, relationship manager - BNY Mellon Partnership EMEA & APAC at Newton Investment Management

"I visited the trading floor of Salomon Smith Barney as a Girl Scout in the late 80s/early 90s. The atmosphere was electric. I knew there was something special about the financial services industry, and hoped it would be a part of my future.

"To me, diversity is key for asset allocation, effective risk management, and so many other concepts in the financial world. It goes without saying: diversity is critical to success across the board."

Joëlle Ekunwe, senior director & senior managing counsel, Legal, BNY Mellon

"I have been fortunate to work with several managers who shared a diverse set of soft skills that are just as important as the hard skills acquired through my career.

"I would say that Hong Kong is female-friendly in terms of career opportunities. Women in senior positions are not uncommon, although I feel they tend to feature less at the apex of the organizational pyramid."

Iris Luk, regional COO for Asia-Pacific (ex Japan) for BNY Mellon IM