Catalyst? The Covid-19 epidemic – and with it the work-to-home environment – has taught the industry that workers who work from a distance can be just as productive as office workers, if not more.
Today’s post-epidemic environment provides a rare opportunity to change the situation, shifting the focus from what firms might leave employees during market trading to one that seeks to accommodate all sex life choices without punishing them.
Although progress has been slow, there are clear signs of a new mindset.
Family-friendly initiatives – such as shared parental leave, extended vacation return and flexible work models – are becoming more common.
That level of support is not just the right thing for women and society; It has significant economic benefits.
Research from Pipeline Equity shows that for every 10% increase in intersectional gender equity, revenue increases 1-2%.
These initiatives are helping to entice a group of backward women to take care of children and elderly relatives or both in an epidemic.
According to the Accenture 2021 survey, about 30% of women in finance say they have quit their jobs permanently or temporarily in the last two years.
The Women in the workplace A study by McKinsey and Leanin.Org in 2021 echoed this, stating that at the beginning of the epidemic, one in three people considered leaving the force, compared to one in four.
In short, financial services companies have begun to meet women on their terms.
According to independent researcher and rating agency HIP Investor, about 99% of financial institutions in the S&P 500 now have diversification and inclusion policies, up from 70% in 2010.
According to Equileap, a gender equality data provider, the number of financial service providers providing flexible work arrangements has increased by 11% since 2020.
The same data provider further showed that more than half of financial services companies now offer at least 14 weeks of paid primary care leave, up from 41% in 2019.
When asked what they need to do to make their professional and personal lives work, the answer was excessive flexibility in their hours.
Accenture data shows that 62% of the women surveyed will leave compensation for extra flexibility in their workplace.
But this is only the starting point.
Other speed bumps include the need to fill the pay gap between men and women and the type of suspension of women in the middle of careers, although financial level has been achieved at the entry level.
A 2021 Cambridge University survey suggests that women are more likely than men to quit financial services because they are more likely to stagnate in the middle ground.
The survey cites two triggers: the decision to have a child or the lack of a support structure to drive internal change.
Some women broke down the next step of the stairs.
According to McKinsey, the share of women at the senior vice president level has increased by 40% in the last three years, and in the C-suit it has increased by 50%.
But in the face of women’s tougher choices, juggling careers and family needs, the most significant progress has been made in establishing hybrid and flexible work schedules.
These can go further.
According to Accenture, while most financial institutions are introducing hybrid work policies, they irresistibly want their employees to be in the office four to five days per week, where 25% of women want to be completely away and 46% want to be in one to three days. One week.
McKinsey 2021 Women in the workplace The report found that more than half of women in financial services would trade low compensation for flexibility in their workplace.
Counselors say employers need to judge and compensate women based on the results of their work, not what they do in a particular place.
Companies that ignore this advice run the risk of losing their diversity quotas and losing talented women to more suitable employers.
Men have an important role to play here as landscape development continues.
“Men, especially those in leadership positions, have an important role to play in supporting and advocating for a more equitable workplace,” said Andrea Fenning, BNY Mellon, COO Broker Dealer Service.
“Having leaders who can recruit, support and manage different teams is key to creating measurable and effective results.”
Katie Byrne is the editor-in-chief of BNY Mellon’s Aerial View Magazine
