More and more women are climbing higher up the career ladder at large Swiss financial institutions. There is more to it than various promotion initiatives.

Several large listed companies in the Swiss financial industry are miles ahead of others in terms of the proportion of women on their management boards. UBS tops the list of blue chips listed on the Swiss Market Index (SMI) with 42 percent female representation, according to the Executive Committee Study 2023 published Tuesday by recruiter Russell Reynolds Associates (RRA).

Important Contributions

After UBS, Partners Group with the representation of 38 percent, Credit Suisse with 36 percent, and Zurich insurance at 33 percent, are also above the average of 24 percent. The financial sector has made significant gains with efforts the increase the proportion of women at the top management level reporting directly to the CEO last year.

Financial Industry

The dominance of the financial sector is reflected in that five of the ten women at SMI companies appointed in the past twelve months were at major Swiss banks.

These include Credit Suisse's COO Francesca McDonagh, chief compliance officer Nita Patel, and global head of people Christine Graeff on the Group executive board. At UBS it is president of the Americas Naureen Hassan and Group CFO Sarah Youngwood.

According to RRA partner Cornelia Taenzler, the drivers of the advancement of women have for some time been influenced by international developments, particularly in the financial centers of London and New York. 

Insurers Lag

While banks have made important strides, the Swiss insurance sector is lagging.  Swiss Re and Swiss Life are proving to have resilient glass ceilings for women with only 15 percent representation at Swiss Re, and none at and above all Swiss Life. At the latter, it seems international career models for women have not yet come to the attention of Switzerland's largest life insurer.

Male Dominance

If the mid-cap stocks from the SMIM index of the Swiss stock market are added to the 20 SMI companies, nearly half of the companies reach the legally stipulated gender benchmark of 20 percent on the management boards.

Nine companies have female participation of more than 30 percent, whereas ten companies consist of all-male boards at the top management level.

International Fast Lane

According to RRA's analysis, Switzerland is making great strides in international comparisons. The proportion of women in top management almost doubled from 13 percent to 24 percent within two years.

Switzerland has overtaken Germany and Denmark in the RRA ranking and is now in sixth place, behind front-runner United Kingdom.

Swiss Benchmarks

Gender benchmarks have been enshrined in Swiss company law since January 2021. Following transitional periods, listed companies in Switzerland must have a 30 percent share of women on the board of directors starting in 2026, and 20 percent on the executive board beginning in 2031.

If the benchmarks are not met, the reasons must be given in the compensation report, and measures for improvement must be specified. Developments in recent years suggest benchmarks laid down by the federal government could be met as early as 2024, as competition intensifies at all career levels due to the shortage of skilled workers and the retirement of baby boomers.

Female Talent Pool

Flexible working hours, childcare offers tailored to employment, and tax incentives are considered important policies for the advancement of women, improving the compatibility of career and family.

In this way, the female talent pool in middle management can grow and sends out a signal that it is an important prerequisite for more women to climb the career ladder to the highest levels of management.