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Is Swiss wealth management a hostile environment for women? finews.com chronicles how UBS failed to quell frustration over bonuses for new moms from boiling over.

One woman was told by a wealth management human resources expert that she didn’t deserve a promotion, despite reviews supporting a move higher, because she had already had the luxury of two maternity leaves. Another was sacked from a Swiss private bank shortly after returning from leave following the birth of her first child.

While UBS is in the sin bin following a public drubbing over moms and bonuses, finews.com found that treatment of women and in particular working mothers at other major Swiss wealth managers was remarkably similar. Big Swiss companies like UBS tend to shift blame to hidebound Swiss structures – few all-day schools or affordable childcare options.

 The wealth managers fail to proffer solutions on how to cope, effectively cutting themselves off from a huge part of the labor pool. The two womens' stories are emblematic of long-simmering tension between female bankers and the largely male-dominated wealth management industry in Switzerland.

Responsive vs Silence

How did we get here? Years of unsuccessful bilateral complaints boiled over last March: roughly dozen women circulated a petition to human resources that complained of UBS’ treatment of working mothers in Switzerland, several current and former UBS bankers told finews.com.

Initially, the bank was responsive to the petition, signed largely by directors or executive directors (the level just below managing director). But by August, the ringleaders of the initiative hadn’t heard back. «Nobody in the group has been informed or consulted – there was no further engagement», one of the women said.

It is perhaps unsurprising that the issue resurfaced shortly after this year’s bonus season ended – indicating at least some of the women are still aggrieved at their treatment by UBS. The net effect is that UBS is losing talented women in higher ranks: A former UBS wealth management employee saw a junior male colleague with considerably fewer professional and academic credentials fast-tracked past her when she had her first child, despite her outstanding performance reviews and public praise from her supervisor.

«Never Again a Swiss Bank»

She later opted to move internally during her second pregnancy after her colleague-turned-boss forced her to take early maternity leave instead (cutting into her time at home following the birth of her baby) by refusing to honor a doctor’s order. She left UBS shortly after.

A woman who worked at another Swiss private bank was let go shortly after her maternity leave, when her team was restructured. «Unless the corporate world finds a way to be more agile, I wouldn’t work for a Swiss bank again» she told finews.com. 

What got UBS in trouble is what the women claim is common practice of paying little or no bonuses following a maternity break (at least 14 weeks, but many banks including UBS and Credit Suisse offer more). To be clear: none of the women finews.com spoke to had an issue having their pay clipped in the year they took maternity leave.

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