Female Fund Managers Lag Their Male Counterparts by 200 Years

(Bloomberg) -- It will take two centuries for female fund managers to achieve equal status to their male counterparts at the current rate of promotion, according to research by Citywire.

The pace of women taking on fund manager roles was “grindingly slow,” with just 1,762 females among the world’s 16,018 active fund managers, according to the report. That’s around 11%, compared with just over 10% four years ago, the research shows.

Fund managers are coming under increased pressure from clients to improve diversity within firms, with many in the U.S. and Europe being forced to provide data on their gender lineups, according to the report. Of the $15 trillion of assets in Citywire’s database, just $2.9 trillion is managed by women, all-female teams or a team of women and men.

Turnover is also a problem, with 42% of female fund managers changing positions in the past decade, compared with 27% of men, the research shows. Factors including company culture, flexible working and maternity leave are all contributing to high turnover, the report said.

The Times of London reported the research earlier.

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