‘Medium’ male managers hinder women’s careers in the financial sector

Men are more likely to be considered suitable for a management position than women, even if those men are ‘average’. And that stands in the way of women’s careers in the financial world. It is one of the findings from a new survey of women workers in the City, the financial heart of London.

For that study, a collaboration of the renowned London School of Economics (LSE) and the interest group Women in Finance and Banking, nearly 80 women were interviewed about their work experiences in the financial world. The women work at various banks and financial institutions (which the researchers do not disclose, so that the women remain anonymous) and in various, sometimes senior, positions.

According to some of the women, they are judged more strictly on their leadership qualities than male colleagues, just because they are women. As a result, men who perform ‘average’ would move on to higher positions more quickly than women who actually do better at work.

mediocre man

According to the respondents, the fact that these ‘mediocre’ men make it further than women is due to a combination of factors. Men fit better in the image that exists of an average employee in the financial sector, is one of them. The backlog that women run as a result of taking maternity leave is also mentioned. As well as the persistent idea that the man is the breadwinner and therefore cannot be ‘passed over’ for a management position.

The mediocre man appears more often in the discussion about the under-representation of women in senior positions, in finance and beyond. Mayor of Amsterdam Femke Halsema formulated it like this last week: in an interview in College Tour: “In the course of my career I have often come across men who I thought: if you had been a woman, you could only have brought coffee.”

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The research also examines the position of black women in the financial world, who experience even more opposition. Eleven of the women interviewed are black, the report states. Some of them say they have to work harder than their male and white female colleagues in order to be valued equally.

Subtle opposition

It number of women in top positions on the rise in the UK. Yet women still face various obstacles in their careers, the study shows. That is usually not straight-to-the-face sexism, but rather unconscious resistance.

Think of discussions in which women are ignored, or in which a male colleague repeats the position of his female colleague and then suddenly it is heard. Or take the male executive who chooses the candidate who most resembles him for a promotion. Such subtle prejudices are harder to combat than outspoken sexism, says researcher Grace Lordan to the business newspaper Financial Times. She does see progress in the City, but also says: “We are really still very, very far from equality.” The study therefore also makes ten recommendations to financial institutions to improve career opportunities for women, including the possibility of more flexible working.

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