In 2016, the film ‘Equity’ was released. Famously dubbed ‘The She-Wolf of Wall Street’, it focussed on a hitherto unexplored topic – women in the world of Finance. The all-female crew, including director Meera Mohan, created a film on how women navigate the cutthroat world of Wall Street. It featured the biases we face, our struggles, and the friendships we forge. Earlier this year, Netflix India launched the dubbed version of the limited series ‘The Exchange’. Set in Kuwait in the 1980s, the film is about two trailblazing Kuwaiti women who break into the stock market, taking on a completely male-dominated industry successfully.
However, the fact remains that most pop culture representation of the financial world has been of men. This is indicative of the kind of industry it is. There’s no denying that the gender gap exists in most professions; but in the world of finance, this gap is especially large as women remain underrepresented both globally and in India.
“The number of women who major in streams such as BCom and MBA are roughly equal to men, and they even enter the workforce with parity,” says private equity and VC specialist Bhaskar Ramakrisnha. “However, finance is a field that often sees unconscious bias against the capability of women. Characteristics that are synonymous with success in the finance industry include cutthroat behaviour, the ability to dominate and aggressive nature. These are typically associated with men. When women inhabit these same traits, they are not viewed positively. And when they don’t inhabit these traits, their judgement and competence are often called into question. Motivation, morale and mental health could all take a beating in such circumstances. And so, women end up dropping out somewhere between entry-level and middle-management. They do not grow up the ladder to occupy higher positions at managerial levels. The gender pay gap and promotion gap are two more huge factors why women drop out of the financial workforce, and instead, look for industries and careers where they feel more valued.”
According to a study by CFA Institute and the CFA Society in India, women make up 21.7 per cent of the workforce and only 15.9 per cent of key managerial positions in financial organisations. There is only one woman for every eight persons on the payroll. The report was aptly titled ‘Mind The Gender Gap’. Globally as well, there’s a lot of catching up to do. Deloitte reported that within financial services institutions in 2021, women held 21 per cent of board seats, 19 per cent of C-suite roles and only 5 per cent of CEO positions at Fortune’s Global 500 list. The survey also featured data specific to India and stated, “India’s FSI C-suite segment has grown by 5 pps over the last two decades. However, India could potentially face a pipeline problem as the share of women in the C-suite is expected to grow at a much faster pace compared to senior leadership and next-generation roles. And while women around the world tend to spend a greater share of their time than men on unpaid work, this is especially acute in India. Given that, FSIs should focus on addressing the need for child care and providing flexible working options to retain women, especially at the next generation and senior leadership levels.”
Diversity and inclusion coach, Sahasra Swaminathan says that there are a few things the financial industry can do to increase women in the workforce:
1. Yes, it’s no longer a novelty to spot a woman in the financial industry. But that doesn’t mean we have enough role models and representation. Women who enter the financial field hardly ever see themselves at the top. They believe their growth is only up until a certain level, and that determines their ambition and drive.
2. There are fewer female mentors and advocacy programmes for women. The few women in the workforce are not given the time or tools to mentor freshers. Companies should ideally create the time and infrastructure for programmes for this.
3. Organisations absolutely need to work on their diversity quotient. This is non-negotiable. When there are strong policies and a diverse investment team, it leads to better outcomes, especially for complex decision-making processes
4. Premium institutions both in India and abroad predominantly have male researchers and faculty members. This lack of representation is another reason women sell themselves short.
5. Women often play it safe, which is why growth might sometimes be slower. When you’re young, it’s alright to take a few risks that could pay off and accelerate your growth.
6. Finance is currently viewed as a boy’s club, which can be intimidating to women who seek support within their own communities at work. The entire industry as well as individual companies should work towards making it more appealing to women, with better equity measures, flexibility and policies to protect against harassment or discrimination.
7. Behavioural bias is everywhere. Women are at the receiving end, but with men, it may just be unconscious. Men in the workforce need to get on board, be trained and be sensitised to make the financial industry more inclusive towards women.
The number of fund managers in India remains abysmally low. However, there are still silver linings. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), is headed by a woman - Madhabi Puri Buch. Barely in her thirties, Radhika Gupta became the CEO of Edelweiss Mutual Fund. There is still a lot of work to be done. In 2015, the not-for-profit Girls Who Invest was set up by Seema Hingorani. Their vision is to increase the number of the world’s capital being managed by women to 30 per cent by 2030. They create a pipeline of resumes of talented young women for investment firms to choose from, and increase their diversity quotient.
Eventually, a balanced and more diverse workforce enables financial firms to understand client needs in a climate that’s changing rapidly. Not only do we give women the seat at the table they richly deserve, but we also create solutions that are innovative and embrace different viewpoints.