Women CFOs by annual revenue
CORPORATE FINANCE
But while there ’ s certainly been improvement , the under-representation of women in executive finance positions remains less than rosy , with van den Bosch Wazen admitting that “ whilst much has been done , we are still of the view that progress is too slow ”.
Still too few women make CFO According to the government-backed Hampton-Alexander Review , of which Odgers Berndtson are active contributors , while women now make up one third of all board positions in the UK ’ s FTSE 100 companies , up from 12.5 % less than a decade ago , there remains a concerning lack of female representation in senior leadership and key executive roles in FTSE companies , with just 15 % of finance directors bring women .
“ One of the Big Four partners informed me that their annual graduate intake split is around 52 % women , 48 % men . By the time this age group reaches their early thirties , the number goes down to 34 % women ,” explains van den Bosch Wazen . “ Since many CFOs of listed businesses in the UK take the audit route , before moving into industry , the disparity of diverse talent coming into the market starts early and is not able to catch up later .”
Recent McKinsey research for its Women in the Workplace report for North America backs this up . While research shows that women and men in financial services begin their careers making up roughly equal portions of entry-level staff , once you get higher up the ladder , women account for only 19 % ( one in five ) of positions in the C-suite .
Women CFOs by annual revenue
The research suggests that as women advance through their careers , they steadily lose ground to their male peers at every stage , suggesting the pathway to the CFOs office is not as clearly illuminated for female candidates .
Why women make good CFOs And yet the evidence suggests that when women do make it to CFO , the payoff for organisations is positive . Companies with female CFOs and CEOs prove more profitable than those led by men , with women-led firms generating US $ 1.8 trillion more in gross profit than the sector average , according to a report by S & P Global .
According to Willard Powell ’ s 2020 Breaking the CFO Glass Ceiling report , Women are taking on more CFO roles at larger firms . businesschief . eu 40