When a somewhat mischievous journalist asked her what it was like to live next to a genius, Marie Curie replied imperturbably: “Ask my husband!!”
This humorous remark is an illustration of the treacherous terrain that women have historically faced in gaining proper recognition in the scientific fields, and the same is true today for the financial sector. “In all the cliché-ridden figures that shape the collective imagination, there is one constant: men are omnipresent.” The skills of the ideal-type “financial player” are singularly at odds with the attitudes, preferences, and values typically attributed to women in our societies. Also, the great merit of this new REF collective is that it offers an update on the subject of “Women and Finance” literature, by approaching this theme as widely as possible in its fields of possible investigation: the banking sector, financial markets, regulatory institutions, corporate governance, academia, etc. This issue offers a critical analysis of gender inequalities in the financial sector and in corporate governance.
After an introduction by Christine Lagarde, in which she shares her experience and the challenges of access to salary and decision-making power, the very complementary and particularly well-documented contributions of the prestigious co-authors highlight the challenges of gender equity in finance and “go beyond the simple quest for performance gains to strengthen inclusiveness and diversity.”
If gender inequalities remain “obvious, lasting and shocking”, progress in this area is all the more remarkable: for example, the majority of bankers are women!!!… But, the proportion of women leaders remains generally low. Women in finance still face strong internal and external barriers, influenced by financial markets. Now the law imposes diversity on boards of directors and helps to break this terrible “glass ceiling” which means that, to date, no woman runs a major banking establishment… even if the presence of women in Central Banks has experienced a significant catch-up effect over the last decade. While the fight towards this goal of equity remains difficult, many opportunities are emerging, calling for educational, institutional and cultural reforms to promote true equality of opportunity. The fact remains that reflection must continue on “quota” policies so that, ultimately, this measure intended to promote equality does not lead to “indirect forms of disadvantage”. As Christine Lagarde reminds us: “women have their place wherever decisions are made. They should not be the exception”. The fact remains that these measures, to be fully effective, must be accompanied by a shared awareness by men “of their domestic responsibilities” in order to instill more confidence in young girls.
The path to fight discrimination and promote true equality of opportunities has been traced, but it will require a profound revolution in mentalities for a perfect success. A dense, dispassionate publication that brilliantly illuminates the future of the subject
Marie-Hélène Broihanne is a Professor at the University of Strasbourg. Gunther Capelle-Blancard is a University Professor – Paris1. Antoine Rébérioux is a Professor at Paris Cité University.
note by Jean-Louis CHAMBON
