Women and Men in Canadian Capital Markets: An Action Plan for Gender Diversity (Report)

Commissioned by Women in Capital Markets, Women and Men in Canadian Capital Markets: An Action Plan for Gender Diversity finds that women continue to struggle to break through the senior leadership ranks in Canadian Capital Markets despite more than a decade of concerted advocacy and good intentions by the industry.

In particular:

• Women in the industry are excited about and committed to their careers, yet some industry leaders still perceive that women are less committed, lack initiative, or do not have the mettle for leadership.
• The majority of men at all levels are able to point to sponsors who have supported their careers, while women struggle to identify sponsors or mentors who can help them successfully navigate their careers in Capital Markets—resulting in slower advancement for women and fewer female women role models at the top.
• A face-time culture creates unsustainable expectations that keep some talented, high performing women—and men—from staying in the industry.
• While the industry has made increasing efforts to attract more women, there is a gap between Human Resources’ intentions to drive gender diversity and talent management and how these policies are understood by both male and female professionals.

The report also contains many Diversity & Inclusion Practices from the industry as well as from other industries.

The following banks participated in the study: BMO Financial Group, CIBC, National Bank, Royal Bank of Canada, Scotiabank, and TD Securities.