GENDER EQUALITY
• Leadership : Jane Fraser ’ s
announced succession to the role of CEO was significant not just to Citi but also in terms of history . The first woman to occupy such a role at a leading Wall Street investment bank , Fraser ’ s appointment is a clear demonstration of the company ’ s commitment to addressing gender inequality . “ There ' s still work to be done ,” states Hines . “ When we consider women of colour in leadership roles , there are even fewer . However , we ’ re always pushing beyond our comfort zone .” This is further attested by Citi becoming one of the first companies to disclose its unadjusted pay gaps in a bid to redress wage inequality .
• Staff : Citi has been actively improving the representation of women in Assistant Vice President and other management roles . To date , the company has managed to allocate 40 % of such roles globally to women , up from 37 % in 2018 .
• The community : “ We engage with suppliers and communities to close gender and race equality gaps in the areas of the world we operate . In particular , Citi is aiming to increase spend with the historically underrepresented black community to US $ 250m over the next year .”
Between 2015 and 2019 , fintech startups founded by men received almost double ($ 15.6m ) in average investment than those founded by women ($ 8m ). Although ‘ increasing equality ’ is generally a goal most financial services companies view as important – McKinsey ’ s article ‘
Closing the gap : Leadership perspectives on promoting women in financial services ’ found that 90 % of those surveyed indicated such a commitment – Hines adds that the importance of action and practicing what one preaches is essential . That is why emphasising the strong business case for increased female leadership is so essential . McKinsey ’ s research found that for companies in the top 25 % of gender diverse leadership teams :
• They were 21 % more likely outperform in terms of profitability
98 March 2021