Finance and women
March 8 was "International Women's Day", an initiative first launched in the USA in the early 20th century and subsequently replicated around the world. The Soviet Union made it a public holiday from 1921 to 1965, and it wasn't until 1977 that the UN adopted a resolution encouraging its members to launch local versions.
But what exactly is the point of having a day to celebrate women? After all, men don't have such a privilege.
For the same reason there are climate marches.
Some causes are downplayed if they are not given a special place in the media landscape or society, because the current system doesn't prioritize them. Believe us, we dream of a world where it doesn't take a single day (out of 365, or 366 in leap years) to awaken or reawaken awareness of the inequalities faced by the overwhelming majority of women.
But above all, we're here to talk business, and about an area we're particularly fond of at AquaFin: finance.
Finance and women.
From Geraldine Weiss to Gita Gopinath to Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, from Laurence Boone to Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani to Delphine d'Amarzit... many of these names are unknown to the general public, even though they are pioneers or game-changers in the world of finance.
Geraldine Weiss, aka the Grande Dame of Dividends, is known for her investment style based on a company's dividends rather than its earnings, while Gita Gopinath is the chief economist of the International Monetary Fund.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is Director-General of the World Trade Organization, while Laurence Boone is Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD.
Finally, Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani has been Secretary General of the French Ministry of Public Accounts since 2019, and Delphine d'Amarzit has been President and CEO of the Paris Stock Exchange since 2021.
So much for the introduction.
Finance: a people-friendly ecosystem
As a corporate professional, think back to the number of times the CFO was a woman. Think of the different industries you've worked with, the different countries you've visited.
How much is it?
In France alone, La Tribune wrote in 2019 that women make up the majority of employees in banking (61%) and insurance (60%). And yet, according to INSEE, women account for 19% of company directors in the sector. So men, who account for 39% of banking employees, represent 81% of managers.
If we now look at the statistics for the position of CFO (Chief Financial Officer), 13.2% were women in 2018, in the USA.
Ah.
And yet, according to Les Echos, funds managed by women posted better returns during the pandemic than those run by men... So isn't there an opportunity here?
Women in finance, makes business sense.
Gender equality is the fifth of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals set by theUN. The underlying idea is that, as women represent over 50% of the world's population, they also represent over 50% of humanity's potential.
The UN also points out that every dollar invested in getting girls into school generates five dollars of growth, while every dollar invested in improving income-generating activities for women generates seven!
McKinsey's "Diversity Wins" study (2019) points to the correlation between achieving parity at management levels and significantly increasing a company's performance. This parity enables better market penetration, diversifies forms of leadership, increases employee commitment, and improves brand image, favorable to attracting new talent.
More specifically with regard to women in finance, an IMF study found a link between the proportion of women in management and banking stability: in particular, management committees with a higher proportion of women were backed by a higher proportion of equity, a lower proportion of bad debts, and greater resistance to stress.
Several factors may explain these differences, such as :
- the fact that women seem to manage risk better than men,
- discrimination mainly allows only excellent candidates to climb the ladder
- diversity on the Board of Directors means a diversity of viewpoints and therefore better decision-making.
Claire Vandromme (CFO at Apsys) and Clelia Lemaire (CFO at Mutuaide Assistance) both emphasize that one of the strengths of women CFOs is their versatility. This enables them to effectively manage deadlines and act as a link between stakeholders.
It is also possible that companies that promote equal access to their management committees are, on the whole, better managed.
Of course, versatility and more reasonable risk management are probably more the result of women's socialization process than an inherent quality. Society as a whole would benefit from training both boys and girls in these desirable qualities!
What can be done to promote access to finance for all?
First of all, there's the legislative aspect: the French government aims to increase gender diversity in companies, notably through quotas, such as the one introduced last summer for companies with over 1,000 employees. The aim is to have 30% women in senior management positions by 2027, rising to 40% by 2030, as DAF magazine writes. Sanctions also exist to call to order companies tempted to turn a deaf ear...
Secondly, there are a number of networking and mentoring initiatives, such as Women in Finance and Financi'Elles, which have been promoting the recruitment of women in finance for some years now.
Finally, take stock of practices in your company, and think about the barriers that exist for your female colleagues, or for potential female candidates. If you're a man, ask them directly, so you don't end up on the wrong track!
By realizing the inequalities in access to management positions based on gender, you'll also realize that your company is missing out on remarkable profiles that could help your organization become more innovative, more agile in the face of change, and better able to lay the foundations for sustainable growth.
Take another look around you, your colleagues and your management committee: do you see a diversity of viewpoints? Do you see enough women?
The answer is probably no, and the good news is that you can take action today.
The final word goes out to the women who read this: all too often, we're invisible in decision-making processes, and we don't dare speak up. This fear of daring is unfortunately rooted in a limiting belief that we are not legitimate in our roles as managers, CFOs and other key positions in a company's success.
It's precisely this feeling of legitimacy that we at AquaFin aim to reactivate in you, thanks to our finance training courses for non-financial professionals, which we can set up in a mixed format... or not!
We use games, real-life cases and brainstorming exercises to help you (re)gain confidence and fully occupy your role in your organization.
Contact us to find out more!
Image source: Daily Maverick, Business Maverick 168, Neesa Moodley
