Canada Third in Ranking of Women Executives in Financial Services

Excerpt from  The Globe and Mail, December 4, 2014

“Canada ranks third in the world for the proportion of women in executive roles in the financial services sector due to a “web of support” for gender diversity in the country, a new global report says.

A global study by consulting firm Oliver Wyman shows women account for 23 per cent of executives at financial services companies in Canada, lagging only Norway and Sweden, where women fill 35 per cent and 29 per cent of executive committee positions respectively.

Japan ranked last of the 19 countries included in the report with no women holding any executive roles at major financial institutions.

The study said Canada’s financial services sector “is pulling above its weight” for women in senior roles compared to other sectors in the economy, arguing there are so many women in the pipeline at major financial institutions that “it appears to be only a matter of time” before a woman is named chief executive officer of a major bank.

The report also said women fill a wider range of executive positions at Canada’s five major banks, including heading major business lines, which provide key experience for moving into top jobs.”

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