WASHINGTON DC, Sept 11 (IPS) – Women are leading more central banks than ever before, thanks to appointments over the past year. But the recent increase means the number of female governors is far from even.
The number of women in governorships has risen to 29 this year from 23 last year, but that leaves the proportion of female leaders at just 16 percent of the world’s 185 central banks, an April report said. report by the Official Forum for Monetary and Financial Institutions.
Greater gender balance in senior positions can help increase diversity of thought and checks and balances, which in turn contributes to greater economic and financial stability and better performance, the IMF said. research shows.
According to OMFIF, a London-based think tank for monetary, economic and investment affairs, appointments this year in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Papua New Guinea are examples of how smaller economies are making more progress on gender equality.
This year’s increase was the biggest gain in more than a decade of surveys, but the Chart of the week shows that central banks still have considerable room to make progress toward greater equality in the ranks of top policymakers who govern the global economy.
This count underscores the struggle women face in central banks and the economic sector. Even though they have grown steadily, they are still underrepresented.
A unique one of its kind IMF survey A survey by the European Central Bank and its G7 colleagues last year found that less than half of employees at those institutions are women, but that on average only a third of women are economists or managers.
This research shows that policy measures to close the gender gap have been only partially successful.
ECB Executive Board Member Isabel Schnabel has pointed to a substantial gender imbalance in the economy, an imbalance that the institution is determined to change among its own staff. Schnabel noted in a 2020 report speech that the barriers are not insurmountable and that mentoring opportunities and childcare can help reduce gender inequality.
The latest additions to the list of countries that appointed a woman as head of the central bank came in January, when Jasmina Selimovic began a six-year term in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Elizabeth Genia was appointed to the top position after serving as acting governor. Last year, Michele Bullock became the first woman to lead the Reserve Bank of Australia.
According to OMFIF’s 2024 Gender Balance Index, Cambodia, Georgia, Moldova and Montenegro also appointed women as heads of their monetary authorities last year.
—For more information, see the recent podcast about gender equality and demography with Inclusion and Gender Unit Economist Lisa Kolovichthe June report on Promoting gender equality and addressing demographic challengesOMFIFs’ March podcast about gender equality in financial institutions with Monique Newiak from the IMF and Mariarosaria Comunale, and the 2023 blog Women fight for equal pay and advancement in central banks.
Source: International Monetary Fund (IMF)
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© Inter Press Service (2024) — All rights reservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service
