Female representation in senior management positions continues to grow
By Megan Harman |
Canadian women have advanced in the corporate leadership ranks of the financial services industry more rapidly than in other industries in the past two years, a new study reveals.
The 2010 Catalyst Census: Financial Post 500 Women Senior Officers and Top Earners was released on Thursday by New York-based Catalyst Inc., a nonprofit international organization that works to expand opportunities for women in business.
The study shows that women held 24.3% of senior officer positions at FP500 insurance and financial services firms in 2010. That’s up from 21.8% in 2008.
The finance and insurance category assessed in the study included 75 publicly listed FP500 companies. On average, each company had two to three women senior officers out of 10 to 11 senior officers total.
That’s a higher level of female representation than most other industries. Of the 468 FP500 companies assessed in total, women held 17.7% of senior officer positions, up from 16.9% in 2008.
Among the companies with the highest percentage of women officers across all industries, finance and insurance companies were at the top of the list. Coast Capital Savings Credit Union earned the top spot, with women holding 77.8% of senior officer positions, State Farm Group came second, with 75% women, and Dundee Corp. is third, with 66.7% women.
At the other end of the spectrum, more than 30% of companies across all industries had zero women senior officers. In the finance and insurance industry, this included Sun Life Financial Inc., Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc., Canaccord Financial Inc. and Allstate Insurance Company of Canada, among others.
The study shows that in all sectors, women senior officers held only 6.2% of the top earner positions in 2010, up less than one percentage point from 5.6% in 2008.
This slow pace of advancement is disappointing, according to Deborah Gillis, senior vice president of membership and global operations at Catalyst.
“Canadian businesses are vastly underutilizing talented women, even though women are the engine of our economies,” she said. “As organizations refuel and retool, it is in their best interest to ensure that this important segment of the employee base is developed for leadership positions. Failure to do so could mean losing opportunities for competitive advantage.”
Gillis pointed to previous Catalyst research showing that on average, companies with more women senior officers tend to outperform those with fewer.
“Organizations must commit to accelerating the advancement of women or risk losing top talent,” she said. “In light of increasingly fierce global competition, corporate Canada has nothing to lose and much to gain by choosing leaders from its ‘full deck’ of talent – women and men.”
IE
The 2010 Catalyst Census: Financial Post 500 Women Senior Officers and Top Earners was released on Thursday by New York-based Catalyst Inc., a nonprofit international organization that works to expand opportunities for women in business.
The study shows that women held 24.3% of senior officer positions at FP500 insurance and financial services firms in 2010. That’s up from 21.8% in 2008.
The finance and insurance category assessed in the study included 75 publicly listed FP500 companies. On average, each company had two to three women senior officers out of 10 to 11 senior officers total.
That’s a higher level of female representation than most other industries. Of the 468 FP500 companies assessed in total, women held 17.7% of senior officer positions, up from 16.9% in 2008.
Among the companies with the highest percentage of women officers across all industries, finance and insurance companies were at the top of the list. Coast Capital Savings Credit Union earned the top spot, with women holding 77.8% of senior officer positions, State Farm Group came second, with 75% women, and Dundee Corp. is third, with 66.7% women.
At the other end of the spectrum, more than 30% of companies across all industries had zero women senior officers. In the finance and insurance industry, this included Sun Life Financial Inc., Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc., Canaccord Financial Inc. and Allstate Insurance Company of Canada, among others.
The study shows that in all sectors, women senior officers held only 6.2% of the top earner positions in 2010, up less than one percentage point from 5.6% in 2008.
This slow pace of advancement is disappointing, according to Deborah Gillis, senior vice president of membership and global operations at Catalyst.
“Canadian businesses are vastly underutilizing talented women, even though women are the engine of our economies,” she said. “As organizations refuel and retool, it is in their best interest to ensure that this important segment of the employee base is developed for leadership positions. Failure to do so could mean losing opportunities for competitive advantage.”
Gillis pointed to previous Catalyst research showing that on average, companies with more women senior officers tend to outperform those with fewer.
“Organizations must commit to accelerating the advancement of women or risk losing top talent,” she said. “In light of increasingly fierce global competition, corporate Canada has nothing to lose and much to gain by choosing leaders from its ‘full deck’ of talent – women and men.”
IE