The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) stands in lower Manhattan on the first day that traders are allowed back onto the historic floor of the exchange on May 26, 2020 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images/TNS)
Far fewer women than men are promoted in the finance industry unless they first ask for seniority, a sign of institutional gender bias, according to a new study in Australia.
The survey of 2,000 finance industry professionals showed 76% of men were offered a promotion at least once without requesting it, compared with 57% of women. The study was compiled by lead researchers Ardea Investment Management and Australian National University in conjunction with industry experts.
The findings provide “evidence of that culture that things come to men without asking,” said Bronwen Whiting, who worked on the survey and is a senior lecturer in applied statistics at the university. “It can’t all be on women to act differently to fix it.”
Australia is among the countries that can claim some success in tackling gender inequality. For example, a report by consultancy Kearney this year showed Australia tops the U.K., U.S. and India for the proportion of female parliamentarians and women board members in its top 100 firms. Yet the latest survey’s results show ongoing gaps, including the fact that male fund managers on average earn more than twice as much as female counterparts.
Male quantitative research analysts are paid 43% more than women, and men in compliance roles received an additional 76%, based on 2019 data. Official Australian figures put the overall gender pay gap at 14%. In the U.K., the gap in financial services is well over 20%, according an analysis of government data.
