by Huw Jones
LONDON (Reuters) – The European Union’s banking watchdog said on Tuesday it would take tough action against the 28% of banks that have yet to put in place a mandatory diversity policy. gender on their boards.
According to data collected from 800 banks and management companies by the European Banking Authority (EBA), at the end of 2021 women represented only 18% of executive directors and 28% of non-executive directors.
Women earned on average 9.5% less than male senior managers, and 6% less than their fellow managers.
Almost half of the banks in the sample had no female executive directors, even though companies that practiced diversity had an above-average return on equity of 7.9%, against 5.3% for those with only male executive directors, according to the EBA.
Banks have been required since 2014 to have a gender equality policy, but 28% still do not, the EBA said.
While banks are allowed to set their own targets for women on their boards, some EU states have passed national laws with targets.
Larger banks and banks in Northern and Eastern Europe performed better on diversity, perhaps due to the existence of better childcare facilities in these countries.
“The gender balance is gradually improving, but too slowly,” the EBA report says.
Other diversity indicators, such as education or social background, could also be improved, according to the EBA.
(Reporting by Huw Jones, French version Dina Kartit, editing by Kate Entringer)
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