Financial Industry Sees Only Small Gains in Minority & Female Senior-Level Positions
New GAO report analyzes data from credit unions, banks, thrifts and other finance sectors.
A new U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found there have been only marginal increases in minority and female representation in senior management positions in the financial services industry.
The GAO report, released last month, analyzed the most recent data from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) from 2018 to 2020 on workforce race, ethnicity and gender. That information was compared to EEOC data from 2007 to 2015, which was initially highlighted in a 2017 GAO report.
While the EEOC data from 2007 to 2015 showed that Asian representation in senior-level positions increased from 4% to 5%, Black and Hispanic representation was each about 3% and female representation remained around 29% over those nine years, according to the 2017 GAO report.
From 2018 to 2020, representation for both minorities and women in senior level management positions was relatively flat or marginally increased. For example, Black and Hispanic representation remained at 3% and 4%, respectively, while Asian and female representation each edged up by only 1% from 2018 to 2020, according to the GAO report.
Nevertheless, the percentage of minorities and women in mid-level management positions — a potential pipeline for senior positions — was higher than for the senior-level positions.
The share of minority groups in mid-level positions increased from a range of about 1.5% to 8% in 2015 to a range of about 2% to 11% by 2020.
However, the percentage of women in mid-level management positions remained unchanged, about 48% in 2015 and also about 48% in 2020. What’s more, from 2018 to 2020, representation in these positions remained flat or relatively flat for minority groups and women, while Hispanic and Asian representation each increased by only one percentage point from 2018 to 2020, according to the report.
Most private employers with 100 or more employees are required to report data to the EEOC on the racial/ethnic and gender characteristics of employees by occupations for a range of industries, including financial services.