Of the few women in senior Swiss banking management, even fewer are responsible for business, as a test by finews.com shows. What is significant though: many female bankers exercise control functions.
Males still dominate the higher echelons of the Swiss banking sector, according to the survey of 50 relevant banks published by finews.com (only available in German)
In a second study, finews.com has now looked at which positions in the management structures are held by women, and has discovered several interesting facts.
In the Engine Room
An above-average number of women are responsible for managing the engine rooms of banks surveyed, or in other words fill the posts of chief operating officer, or COO. Five of a total of 37 women exercise this function (see graphic).
Most of them work for the large Swiss banks. Isabelle Guida and Katrin Oertli share the position at UBS Switzerland, while Sabine Keller-Busse fills the operating function in the UBS management structure. Dagmar Kamber Borens and Sabine Rabald head the engine room at Credit Suisse Switzerland and Edmond de Rothschild respectively.
These managers thus lead from the inside and not from the front. They must ensure all processes are properly coordinated and that the daily businesses function smoothly. They represent the heart and soul of the bank, but remain largely invisible, unlike the high profile CEOs.
Few Figureheads
The finews.com study further shows that of the 50 banks surveyed, only three are headed by female CEOs. Namely Ariane de Rothschild (Edmond de Rothschild), Marianne Wildi (Hypothekarbank Lenzburg) and Sandra Lienhart (Bank Cler).
Also apparent is that the majority of women in senior management have no direct responsibility for generating profits, as is the case in corporate and mortgage financing, investment banking and retail banking.
Rather they largely head the legal and compliance, personnel and finance (CFO) functions. The COO posts also fall under these categories.
Traditional Banking Male-Dominated
This division of labor is based on the fact that profit generation and traditional banking activities remain largely in the hands of men. As is widely evident, male management bodies tend to appoint men as chairs. Thus it is likely to be a while before women penetrate this male domain.
