TTE: At 29% women’s participation in the boards of Greek banks

In the Greek banking system, their participation in the board of directors of significant companies averages 29%, and this is consistent with the European average (data 2023). The corresponding percentage in non-significant credit institutions is lower, at 14.3% (with a range of 0% to 38%) and falls below the European average (22%) – to some extent this reflects the particularities of cooperative banks, said, among others, the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Greece Christina Papanikolaou, speaking today (7.3.2024) at the event “CNN Insights: Women’s empowerment and leadership”, The question, as he said, of gender differentiation in decision-making bodies does not only arise from the need to ensure equal opportunities for women. “There are studies showing that women’s participation in decision-making bodies leads to better economic results – this also applies to male-occupied sectors, such as the financial sector,” he said. He added that the Single Supervisory Mechanism attaches particular importance to diversity and inclusion in senior decision-making bodies in financial institutions. However, as he pointed out in Greece and despite progress gender equality lags behind other European countries. The relevant indicator for 2023 amounted to 58 units for Greece (from 100) versus 70.2 average in the European Union and 79.3 average in the three countries with the best performance in the index (Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands), with significant economic implications as a significant part of the country’s labour force remains unused. Although the positions of the heads of both the ECB and the Single Supervisory Mechanism have been assigned to women, the participation of women in the senior decision-making bodies in the Eurosystem is not particularly encouraging. In the Governing Council of the ECB there are only two women in all 26 of its members, while a somewhat better picture is on the Supervisory Board of the Single Supervisory Mechanism, which are 11 women in a total of 33 members. The Bank of Greece, for its part, attaches particular importance to issues of equality, diversity and inclusion and promotes the representation of women in its potential, particularly in positions of responsibility. In 2023 the representation rate of women in the total staff rose to 45% of the total, while in the positions of responsibility, the rate increased from 37% to 53% compared to 2022. It therefore gives the “good example” to the financial system. Source: RES – ICM