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The financial services industry has been vocal over recent years about how it is tackling the fact that there is a lack of women holding senior positions. However, to what effect? In 2017 there were seven high profile CEO appointments made within the accounting profession. Those who filled these positions were all men.

Statistically we can't really draw any conclusions from this as there may be many reasons along the route of the recruitment process as to why women weren't selected for these roles. Indeed, there may have been a lack of female applicants for these positions.

What is interesting here is that around 50% of accounting students are female. So, it seems that early on in their careers, as they start out, there isn't a lack of female students at qualification level and women are committed and engaged with the route they are taking. So, what is happening as women start out in their careers in the finance industry that stops them from reaching their full potential? Arguably, there has been increasing negativity around the role women play in leadership positions and this means that women are at risk of becoming further underrepresented in industry.

The issue of gender diversity is crucial for business success; we need to ensure that talent has a way to reach the top of the ladder. A positive step towards this is a new institute created and championed by former prime minister of Australia, Julia Gillard: The Global Institute for Women's Leadership, which is at King's College London. The aim of the Institute is to work to "create a world in which being a woman is not a barrier to becoming a leader in any field, nor a factor contributing to negative perceptions of an individual's leadership".

Companies are being vocal about diversity, and gender diversity, but the changes aren't visible yet. Hopefully initiatives like this Institute, coupled with the changing attitude of businesses towards gender diversity, will mean that we will soon see women reaching their full potential in leadership roles and making a difference in the financial services industry.

https://www.kcl.ac.uk/giwl/index.aspx

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