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Women on High-Level Boards of Banks and Insurance Companies: Growth Coming to a Standstill on Supervisory Boards

Author

Listed:
  • Elke Holst
  • Katharina Wrohlich

Abstract

The proportion of women on executive boards of the 100 largest banks stagnated at almost nine percent in 2018. In the 60 largest insurance companies, the proportion increased by a good percentage point to almost ten percent. While growth on executive boards has been weakening in past years, it is now slowing down on supervisory boards in the financial sector as well. In 2018, the proportion of women on financial sector supervisory boards remained at around 23 percent. If the current linear development were to continue, it would now take longer—almost until the beginning of the next century— for the top bodies to be composed of equal numbers of men and women. Compared to men, women in the financial sector are less likely to be promoted to senior management positions than in any other sector. This is due to, among other things, particularly inflexible working structures for managers, which ensure that women are hardly represented in middle management although they make up the majority of employees.

Suggested Citation

  • Elke Holst & Katharina Wrohlich, 2019. "Women on High-Level Boards of Banks and Insurance Companies: Growth Coming to a Standstill on Supervisory Boards," DIW Weekly Report, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, vol. 9(3), pages 33-45.
    • Handle: RePEc:diw:diwdwr:dwr9-3-2
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    File URL: https://www.diw.de/documents/publikationen/73/diw_01.c.612033.de/dwr-19-03-2.pdf
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    board composition; board diversity; boards of directors; central banks; corporate boards; Europe; finance industry; financial sector; female directors; Gender gap; gender equality; gender quota; Germany; insurance companies; management; public and private banks; supervisory boards; women CEOs;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G2 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J78 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Public Policy (including comparable worth)
    • L32 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise - - - Public Enterprises; Public-Private Enterprises
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility
    • M51 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Firm Employment Decisions; Promotions

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