Bloomberg/Milda Seputyte and Aaron Eglitis: Lagarde Is First Woman to Lead ECB But Men Rule Rest of Eurozone

Bloomberg

Economics
Lagarde Is First Woman to Lead ECB But Men Rule Rest of Eurozone

By Milda Seputyte
and Aaron Eglitis

Christine Lagarde.
Christine Lagarde. Photographer: Andreas Arnold/Bloomberg
SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Share
Tweet
Post
Email

Christine Lagarde is set to join what remains a minority of women in senior roles at euro-area central banks.

While she’s secured the top job at the ECB, all the permanent governors in the currency bloc’s 19 members are men. Female representation in high-ranking positions is still lacking at the Frankfurt-based institution and most of the national monetary authorities.
Off Balance

The European Central Bank wants to boost the share of women in senior management positions to 28% by year-end and has made headway since setting targets in 2013. Mentoring, interview training and child benefits would help, an ECB working paper found.

But the bank’s Governing Council and Executive Board, where politicians make appointments, remain male dominated. Only two of 25 members are women.

Elsewhere, the Central Bank of Ireland performs best, with 40% of its senior management posts going to women. At the other end of the scale, Luxembourg and Malta have none. Estonia and Cyprus have the most female employees but many are in lower-level positions.

For Lagarde, it’s not just a matter of gender equality.

“Adding one more woman in a firm’s senior management or corporate board -- while keeping the size of the board unchanged -- is associated with an 8 to 13 basis-point higher return on assets,” she said in March. “If banks and financial supervisors increased the share of women in senior positions, the banking sector would be more stable too.”

Terms of Service
Trademarks Privacy Policy ©2019 Bloomberg L.P. All Rights Reserved
Careers Made in NYC Advertise Ad Choices Contact Us Help