The European Banking Authority (EBA) publishes today the results of its benchmarking analysis on diversity practices in the management bodies of more than 850 institutions credit institutions and investment firms across the European Union (EU). As of 31 December 2024, significant gender imbalances and pay gaps persisted, particularly at senior management level, despite some progress compared with the situation in 2021. The EBA calls on institutions to consider promoting a more balanced representation of genders, and on competent authorities to continue assessing diversity and gender pay gap practices as part of their supervisory reviews.
Key findings
- Diversity policies remain unevenly implemented: around 20% of institutions have no diversity policy, and only 67% have set quantitative targets for gender representation.
- Gender imbalance persists at senior management level: nearly half of institutions have no women among their executive directors, and women account for only 12% of CEOs across the EU. While representation is higher in supervisory functions, women remain under‑represented in leadership roles.
- Male executive directors earn on average around 10% more than their female counterparts, pointing to shortcomings in the application of gender‑neutral remuneration policies.
- There is a positive correlation between gender balance and return on equity (RoE) at institutional level, reinforcing the case for stronger diversity practices.
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