Oliver Wyman research quantifies gaps, reiterates gender diversity as business imperative, and outlines approach for faster action

London - Friday, December 5th 2014 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE) - What stops women from getting to the top in financial services firms? Global management consulting firm Oliver Wyman looked at the 150 largest financial services companies and interviewed over 60 senior women (and some men) from across the sector and surveyed over 1,000 current and potential financial services employees internationally during the third quarter of 2014. The answers in their Women in Financial Services report are surprising.

There has been progress in the boardroom:

    Female representation at board level has increased by two thirds over the last 10 years
    20% of board members are now women

But there’s a long way to go in the executive leadership ranks:

    Over one third of leading financial institution executive committees are still entirely male
    Female representation on executive committees stands at 13% and is increasing at a slower rate than board membership
    Only 4% of Financial Services CEOs are women
    There are still few women on the path to CEO: only 11% of women hold senior roles with profit and loss (P&L) responsibility; only 8% of Chief Financial Officers and 4% of Chief Risk Officers are women

The report highlights important geographic differences of executive committee members that are women. For example:

    Norway 35% of executive committee members are women
    Sweden 29%
    Canada 23%
    Russia 20%
    US 16%
    UK 12%
    Germany 7%
    Japan 0%

This scarcity at the top magnifies an urgent retention challenge in an industry where just over 50% of all junior employees in the US, Sweden, and the United Kingdom are women.

A copy of the report can be found here.

About Oliver Wyman

Oliver Wyman is a global leader in management consulting. With offices in 50+ cities across 25 countries, Oliver Wyman combines deep industry knowledge with specialized expertise in strategy, operations, risk management, and organization transformation. The firm's 3,000 professionals help clients optimize their business, improve their operations and risk profile, and accelerate their organizational performance to seize the most attractive opportunities. Oliver Wyman is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies [NYSE:MMC]. For more information, visit www.oliverwyman.com. Follow Oliver Wyman on Twitter @OliverWyman.

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