Women are drastically under-represented throughout the investment management business, and more needs to be done to facilitate gender diversity in the industry, according to a report released Thursday by the New York City-based CFA Institute.
The report, Gender Diversity in Investment Management, is the largest survey of investment management professionals on the subject of gender diversity to date, the CFA Institute says in a news release.
“Women continue to be underrepresented at every level and in every function of investment management,” the report finds.
Only 9.8% of industry CEOs are female, according to the report, while 10.2% of chief investment officers, 11% of chief financial officers, 14.9% of portfolio managers, 15.1% of investment consultants, and 17.3% of financial advisors or planners are female.
Women are also more likely than men to have jobs that support or serve those in investment management, the report notes.
The survey also finds that almost half of respondents do not believe that gender diversity is a significant issue in investment management. “This is one of the likeliest reasons why women are so underrepresented at every level of the financial profession,” the CFA Institute says.
Additionally, women are generally shouldering a greater share of domestic responsibilities. According to the report, 65.9% of women are responsible for at least half of family care duties, versus 22.4% of men.
“It’s unacceptable that a young woman today might feel that the doors of opportunity in the investment management profession are shut to her simply based on her gender,” says Paul Smith, president and CEO of CFA Institute, in a statement. “In 2016, this is something our industry cannot and should not tolerate.”
“The results of this study and the changes it suggests cannot be more clear: together, we must work to create change now. A focused effort to raise awareness of the benefits of gender diversity in investment management among women and investors alike will allow us to address both the supply and demand sides of the issue,” he adds.
The issue of gender diversity could be addressed by focusing on three areas, the CFA report says: emphasizing the positive impact that gender diversity can have on investment performance; working to bridge the work-life balance gap that disproportionately affects women; and providing young women with early exposure to the investment industry in their college years, and early career.
“At CFA Institute, we believe that the time to end the woeful underrepresentation of women within the investment management industry is now,” says Smith. “As the industry’s only global standard setter in ethics and best practices, we are asking all of our members and our industry partners to join us in addressing the chronic issue of gender disparity in the investment management industry.”
The survey, which was undertaken in May, drew 5,259 responses, including more than 3,300 in the Americas, almost 1,200 from the Europe, Middle East & Africa region, 750 in Asia, and 199 from the United Kingdom.
Photo copyright: stockbroker/123RF