The Citywire 2024 report on gender parity in asset management reveals a positive move towards a better gender balance, although some obstacles remain. The Alpha Female Report notes several notable advances for women in the asset management industry.
A welcome acceleration in progress
One of the highlights of this ninth edition is the increase in the number of women in portfolio management positions. On a database covering 18,141 professionals worldwide, the percentage of women in these roles has climbed from 12.1% to 12.5% over the past twelve months. After a near-stagnation in 2023, this increase, albeit modest, indicates an acceleration of the movement towards greater diversity.
More visible female leadership
Another positive trend highlighted by the report is the growing diversity within fund management teams. Today, nearly 20% of funds are run, in whole or in part, by women. At the same time, the average size of portfolios managed by women has increased significantly, demonstrating a marked improvement on previous years, when they lagged behind their male counterparts.
Barriers persist
However, despite these advances, the pace of change remains relatively slow. New fund launches are holding back progress, with less than 20% of new mandates entrusted to women in the past year. Nevertheless, it is encouraging to note that this figure has risen considerably compared to 2023, when it was just 6%.
Also, retaining and retaining women in these roles remains a major challenge for management companies, despite their efforts to improve this situation.
World leaders
The report also highlights geographical disparities. Taiwan stands out at the top of the large jurisdictions with over a third of its portfolio managers being women. In Europe, Spain leads the way with a rate of 23%, while major markets such as the USA and the UK are around the global average. At the other end of the spectrum, Germany lags seriously behind, with just 6% of women in management positions.
This report, based on 25 years of data collected by Citywire, provides an in-depth analysis of the progress made towards gender parity in the asset management industry, while highlighting the challenges that still need to be overcome to achieve true equality.
Source: Citywire's Alpha Female Report 2024.
This post was translated from the original French.