NEW RESEARCH FOR
PRACTITIONERS ON HOW TO
CLOSE THE GENDER GAP
1
In the last year, CFA Institute, along with
many professional organizations, began
to look more closely at the composition
of its membership. We found a surprising
number: Women represent less than one
in five CFA® charterholders.
Why would this be?
The most enduring principle of sound investment
management is diversification, yet it is remarkably absent from team construction across all
spectrums of the investment profession. Can we
improve investor outcomes through increased diversity in general, starting with the gender gap?
The idea that gender diverse teams have better
outcomes in terms of corporate earnings and investment returns has been the subject of a growing
number of industry papers1 and even some new
investment products, although academic findings
to date have been mixed.2 Furthermore, this is
a topic that centers around firm culture, an important but understudied subject in the financial
industry,3 and a lot of the work around cognitive
diversity or collective intelligence has been done
in other fields.4
Now, however, culture as a competitive edge is
a growing area of interest in the investment industry, and the subject is of increasing concern
to regulators of financial firms as well. Senior
leaders across the industry who are adept at
solving difficult problems have told us they can’t
seem to make progress in terms of attracting and
retaining women investment professionals.
2
To uncover some of the underlying causes of the
gender disparity in investment management,
we developed a survey in consultation with finance scholars Renée Adams, Brad Barber, and
Terrance Odean. We drew some questions from
surveys conducted of the general population,
which then allowed us to compare views of men
and women generally with views of men and
women in the investment profession, using CFA
Institute members as a proxy for the profession.
We sent the survey to our membership in May
2016 and received responses from over 5,000
CFA members (more than 4,000 men and more
than 1,000 women).
Adams, Barber, and Odean then analyzed the
anonymized CFA Institute survey data and
compared the survey results with several additional datasets to investigate the question of
why women are underrepresented in this field.
The result of their efforts is the working paper
titled “Family, Values, and Women in Finance”
(2016) available on SSRN.5
Although we anticipate additional research
will be generated from this dataset, the initial
working paper provides an important first step
in understanding the factors that modulate
gender representation in investing.
In this executive summary, we highlight some
key findings from the May 2016 CFA Institute
survey and Adams et al.
Editor
Rebecca Fender, CFA
Head, Future of Finance
CFA Institute
20.6%
20.5%
20.2%
19.8%
19.7%
19.5%
18.9%
18.5%
18.0%
17.0%
16.9%
16.8%
16.8%
16.4%
16.4%
16.2%
16.0%
15.5%
15.3%
14.3%
14.2%
14.1%
14.1%
14.0%
13.6%
13.5%
13.1%
12.4%
12.3%
12.2%
12.1%
12.0%
11.1%
11.1%
10.8%
10.7%
10.4%
9.3%
9.3%
9.0%
5.9%
3.1%
A GLOBAL ISSUE
0%
50%
VIETNAM
43.0%
39.1%
ROMANIA
31.5%
PHILIPPINES
31.3%
CHINA
31.0%
TAIWAN
30.9%
MALAYSIA
30.8%
THAILAND
Men dominate the investment profession, as enSINGAPORE
workers in the country; the exceptions29.2%
are
28.9%
EGYPT
the figure shows, which compares by country in the Middle East, where some countries have
28.7%
LEBANON
the percentage of women CFA members versus lessBULGARIA
than 25% women in their entire labor force.
27.6%
the percentage of all women workers in that Seven
out of the eight countries with the high26.3%
HONG KONG
24.1%in
CYPRUS
country. In no country do women represent as est percentages
of women CFA members are
21.6%
much as half of the CFA members. In all but a Asia.FRANCE
Latin American countries have some of
the
20.9%
NIGERIA
few countries, the percentage of women CFA lowest
percentages of women CFA members.
20.6%
NORWAY
members is less than the percentage of all wom20.5%
SPAIN
20.2%
UNITED KINGDOM
19.8%
ITALY
19.7%
CANADA
19.5%
SRI
LANKA
% WOMEN, TOTAL LABOR FORCE
18.9%
LUXEMBOURG
VS. % WOMEN, CFA INSTITUTE
18.5%
IRELAND
18.0%
BAHRAIN
% WOMEN, TOTAL
FORCE
MEMBERS
BYLABOR
COUNTRY
17.0%
FINLAND
VS. % WOMEN, CFA INSTITUTE
16.9%
TURKEY
MEMBERS BY COUNTRY
16.8%
AUSTRALIA
16.8%
SOUTH AFRICA
AMER | EMEA | APAC
16.4%
USA
16.4%
PORTUGAL
% WOMEN
16.2%
NEW
ZEALAND
CFA INSTITUTE MEMBERS
16.0%
AUSTRIA
% WOMEN
15.5%
RUSSIA
TOTAL LABOR FORCE
15.3%
SWITZERLAND
*Source: World Bank
14.3%
INDONESIA
14.2%
PAKISTAN
0%
50%
14.1%
NETHERLANDS
14.1%
EMIRATES
VIETNAM
43.0% UNITED
% OFARAB
CFA INSTITUTE
MEMBERS THAT
14.0%
GREECE
39.1%
ROMANIA
ARE WOMEN
13.6%
SOUTH KOREA
31.5%
PHILIPPINES
13.5%
HUNGARY
31.3%
CHINA
13.1%
UKRAINE
31.0%
TAIWAN
12.4%
GERMANY
30.9%
MALAYSIA
12.3%
SWEDEN
30.8%
THAILAND
POLAND
12.2%
29.2%
SINGAPORE
12.1%
PERU
28.9%
EGYPT
12.0%
KUWAIT
28.7%
LEBANON
CZECH REPUBLIC
11.1%
27.6%
BULGARIA
11.1%
BRAZIL
26.3%
HONG KONG
10.8%
ARGENTINA
24.1%
CYPRUS
10.7%
INDIA
21.6%
FRANCE
10.4%
DENMARK
20.9%
NIGERIA
9.3%
BELGIUM
20.6%
NORWAY
9.3%
MEXICO
20.5%
SPAIN
9.0%
JAPAN
20.2%
UNITED KINGDOM
5.9%
QATAR
19.8%
ITALY
3.1%
SAUDI ARABIA
19.7%
CANADA
19.5%
SRI LANKA
18.9%
LUXEMBOURG
3
18.5%
IRELAND
18.0%
BAHRAIN
17.0%
FINLAND
% OF CFA INSTIT
MEMBERS THAT
ARE WOMEN
WOMEN ARE UNDERREPRESENTED IN THE INVESTMENT PROFESSION
% WOMEN, TO
VS. % WOMEN
MEMBERS BY
AMER | EME
% WO
CFA IN
% WO
TOTAL
*Sour
THE DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE
OF THE AVERAGE INVESTMENT
PROFESSIONAL VARIES BY
GENDER
The average age of men and women CFA members
is about 42 years old, and both men and women
are well educated (though men are more likely to
have a graduate degree).
However, the family circumstances of CFA members vary by gender. Men CFA members are more
likely to be married (79%) and have children in
the home (53%) than their women counterparts
(72% and 44%, respectively). Women CFA members are much more likely to have a spouse who
has a full-time occupation (79%) than men CFA
members (51%). Perhaps most importantly,
nearly two-thirds of women CFA members with
dependents report they have primary responsibility for the care of dependents, while about
one-fifth of men members with dependents report
similar levels of responsibility. Adams et al.
further discuss the implications of these different
family circumstances and, more broadly, cultural
values, as they relate to the gender representation
of women in investing.
PROFILE| MEN WOMEN | MEN
RESPONDENTRESPONDENT
PROFILE
WOMEN
AVERAGE
AGE
42.0
HIGHEST LEVEL OF EDUCATION
45.0%
WOMEN
41.7
MEN
4
38.7% 3+
5.5%
21.6%
2
BACHELOR’S DEGREE
16.9%
56.0%
1
52.0%
57.2%
10.9%
3.0%
24.9%
MASTER’S DEGREE
17.3%
0
PROPORTION OF DEPENDENT
CARE RESPONSIBILITIES
FALLING TO MEMBER
4.1%
PHD
46.8%
<=50%
>50%
<=50%
>50%
34.1%
22.4%
65.9%
77.7%
RESPONDENT PROFILE (CONTINUED)
MARRIED OR IN A
MARRIAGE-LIKE RELATIONSHIP
71.7% | 79.4%
DIVORCED
2.5% | 6.4%
SEPARATED
0.8% | 0.9%
WIDOWED
0.3% | 0.6%
NEVER MARRIED
17.1% | 20.4%
OCCUPATION
SPOUSE’SSPOUSE’S
OCCUPATION
MY SPOUSE HAS A
FULL-TIME OCCUPATION
MY SPOUSE HAS A
PART-TIME OCCUPATION
MY SPOUSE'S PRIMARY WORK INVOLVES
TAKING CARE OF OUR HOME AND/OR FAMILY
NONE OF THE ABOVE
50.7%
79.0%
6.9%
16.1%
7.7%
29.6%
6.3%
3.6%
NUMBER OF
CHILDREN AT HOME
5.5%
OMEN
MEN
MARITAL STATUS
MARITAL STATUS
2.0
41.7
WOMEN | MEN
21.6%
16.9%
56.0%
3+
2
1
0
10.9%
24.9%
17.3%
46.8%
5
BUILDING THE PIPELINE
WHEN DO CAREER DECISIONS OCCUR?
39.9% | 36.1%
32.8% | 32.5%
8.9% | 11.3%
8.4% | 8.4%
CFA members report that they made the decision
to pursue a finance career early in life. The age at
which CFA members made their career decisions,
broken down by gender, is shown in the figure.
More than 80% of CFA members made the decision to pursue a finance career while under the age
of 26. More than one-third made the decision
before the age of 22. These patterns are similar
for men and women.
10.3% | 11.8%
One possible explanation for the underrepresentation of women in finance is the well documented
gender gap in math: boys tend to perform better
than girls on standardized math tests. Moreover,
the gender gap in math has been linked to cultural norms. In research published in Science,
Guiso, Monte, Sapienza, and Zingales (2008)
provide evidence that the gender gap in math
across countries is correlated with measures of
gender inequality.10 In ongoing work, Adams,
Barber, and Odean are testing the hypothesis that
the gender gap in math is related to the underrepresentation of women in finance.
We compared responses from those over age 40
with responses from those under age 40, but we
found no significant differences. In other words,
the younger generation is not making these decisions earlier in life; most are still determining
their career during their university years or shortly
thereafter, and all the influences up until then can
be contributing factors.
WOMEN
MEN
<18
18-21 YRS
22-25 YRS
26-29 YRS
30+ YRS
Any conversation around women in finance
will at some point turn to the issue of how
many qualified women are in the pipeline and
when women might be influenced to consider
finance as a career. Women now represent 57%
of college graduates (48% of graduating business majors)6 and make up about 50% of all
CPAs,7 48% of medical students,8 and 47% of
law school students,9 so the difference is striking when looking at the 18% figure for women
CFA charterholders. In June 2016, 32% of CFA
candidates sitting for the exam were women,
although this number is driven largely by high
rates of participation by women in China.
TOTAL
6
AGE OF
CAREER
DECISION
CAREER PROGRESSION AND
DIFFERENCES IN FUNCTIONAL
ROLES
We first looked broadly at the functional areas in
which CFA members work (investment management, support/service to those working in investment management, and other finance-related
positions, as shown in the figure). While most
CFA members work in investment management,
women are less likely to do so. A higher percentage of men CFA members (59%) than women
CFA members (52%) report working in investment
management jobs. Women CFA members are
more likely than men members to report having jobs that support or service those working
in investment management (22% women CFA
members versus 16% men CFA members). This is
consistent with the occupations that had higher
levels of participation by women.
WHICH BEST DESCRIBES YOUR
CURRENT EMPLOYMENT?
WOMEN
MEN
52.3%
58.9%
I WORK IN INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
MY ROLE SUPPORTS/SERVICES
THOSE WORKING IN
INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
21.6%
16.2%
I WORK IN FINANCE, BUT NOT IN
INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT OR
IN A ROLE THAT SUPPORTS
INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
20.4%
19.6%
NONE OF THE ABOVE
5.8%
5.3%
7
13.6%
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
13.9%
TRADER
OCCUPATION
(% of CFA Institute members who
are women vs. men)
WOMEN
MEN
14.4%
RESEARCH ANALYST, INVESTMENT ANALYST, OR QUANTITATIVE ANALYST
14.9%
PORTFOLIO MANAGER
15.1%
INVESTMENT CONSULTANT
16.7%
REGULATOR
17.3%
PERSONAL FINANCIAL ADVISOR OR PLANNER
9.8%
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER (CEO)
17.4%
CORPORATE FINANCIAL ANALYST
10.2%
CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER (CIO)
17.8%
CONSULTANT
11.0%
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER (CFO)
18.1%
RISK ANALYST/MANAGER
11.4%
SALES AGENT (SECURITIES, COMMODITIES, FINANCIAL SERVICES)
18.5%
MANAGER OF MANAGERS
11.6%
INVESTMENT STRATEGIST
19.9%
ACCOUNTANT OR AUDITOR
13.6%
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
20.0%
FINANCIAL EXAMINER
13.9%
TRADER
22.4%
ECONOMIST
14.4%
RESEARCH ANALYST, INVESTMENT ANALYST, OR QUANTITATIVE ANALYST
24.0%
CREDIT ANALYST
14.9%
PORTFOLIO MANAGER
24.3%
PROFESSOR/ACADEMIC
15.1%
INVESTMENT CONSULTANT
25.1%
RELATIONSHIP MANAGER/ACCOUNT MANAGER
16.7%
REGULATOR
28.1%
COMPLIANCE ANALYST/OFFICER
17.3%
PERSONAL FINANCIAL ADVISOR OR PLANNER
30.7%
PERFORMANCE ANALYST
17.4%
CORPORATE FINANCIAL ANALYST
17.8%
CONSULTANT
18.1%
Women
are underrepresented in all of the most
RISK ANALYST/MANAGER
common
CFA member occupations as shown in
18.5%
MANAGER
OF MANAGERS
the
figure.
This figure summarizes the percent19.9%
age of
women versus men by occupation using
ACCOUNTANT OR AUDITOR
self-reported survey data for more than 9,000
20.0%
CFA
members.
FINANCIAL
EXAMINER It is most noteworthy that women
represent
22.4% only 1 in 10 people in the key leaderECONOMIST
24.0%
CREDIT ANALYST
24.3%
PROFESSOR/ACADEMIC
25.1%
RELATIONSHIP MANAGER/ACCOUNT MANAGER
28.1%
COMPLIANCE ANALYST/OFFICER
30.7%
PERFORMANCE ANALYST
8
ship positions of CEO, chief investment officer,
and chief financial officer. The occupations with
the highest representation of women are performance analyst, compliance analyst/officer,
and relationship manager/account manager, but
even in these occupations, women represent less
than one in three workers.
WORK STRUCTURE AND
FLEXIBILITY
Adams et al. discuss the importance of work
structure and flexibility as a factor that affects
the gender representation in investment management. In the May 2016 survey, we asked CFA
members about their ability to arrange work so
as to accommodate competing demands on their
time. We summarize the results of these questions
in the following figure.
Most men (66%) and women (63%) CFA members
report that it is not at all hard or not too hard to
take time off work. In the general US population,
most college-educated men workers (76%) and
women workers (70%) also report that it is not at
all hard or not too hard to take time off work.
20.5%
NOT AT ALL HARD
20.5%
20.5%
NOT AT ALL HARD
48.8%
48.8%
OFTEN
OFTEN
OFTEN
OFTENOFTEN
7.8%
33.7%
33.7%
SOMEWHAT HARD
19.4%
SOMEWHAT HARD19.4%
VERY HARD
7.8%
7.8%
VERY HARD
33.7%33.7%
SOMEWHAT HARD
19.4%19.4%
SOMETIMES
SOMETIMES
29.6%
29.6%
29.6%29.6%
SOMETIMES
SOMETIMES
46.0%
46.0%
46.0%
SOMEWHAT
SOMEWHAT
HARDHARD
29.6%
SOMETIMES
SOMETIMES
VERY HARD
8.7% 8.7%
VERY
VERY HARDHARD
19.4%
NOTHARD
TOO HARD
NOT TOO
48.8%48.8%
OFTENOFTEN
SOMEWHAT HARD
25.6%25.6%
33.7%
NOT TOO HARD
NOT TOO HARD
48.8%
OFTEN
OFTEN
45.2%45.2%
SOMEWHAT
SOMEWHAT
HARDHARD
NOT TOO HARD
39.1%
39.1%
39.1%39.1%
OFTEN
SOMEWHAT HARD
25.6%
SOMEWHAT HARD25.6%
NOTHARD
TOO HARD
NOT TOO
39.1%
NOT
ALL HARD
NOT AT
ALLATHARD
45.2%
45.2%
NOT TOO HARD
NOT TOO HARD
NOT
ALL HARD
NOT AT
ALLATHARD
NOT AT ALL HARD
NOT AT ALL HARD
25.6%
NOT TOO HARD
NOT AT ALL HARD
20.5%20.5%
NOT AT ALL HARD
45.2%
WOMEN
MEN
WOMEN
TOTAL
MEN
WOMEN
TOTAL
MEN
TOTAL
WOMEN
WOMEN
8.7%
MEN MEN
VERY HARD
TOTAL
8.7%
TOTAL
8.7%
VERY HARD
RARELY
RARELY
RARELY
15.5%
6.1%
15.5%
15.5%
NEVER
6.1%
NEVER6.1%
15.5%15.5%
RARELY
RARELY
22.9%
12.4%
22.9%
RARELY 12.4%
RARELY 12.4%
22.9%
SOMETIMES
SOMETIMES
46.0%46.0%
22.9%22.9%
SOMETIMES
SOMETIMES
VERY HARD
7.8% 7.8%
VERY
VERY HARDHARD
RARELY
12.4%12.4%
RARELY
RARELY
NEVER
6.1% 6.1%
NEVER
NEVER
18.7%
NEVER
NEVER
NEVER
18.7%
18.7%
18.7%18.7%
NEVER
NEVER
9
Similarly, most men (77%) and women (73%)
CFA members are often or sometimes allowed
to change their starting and quitting times on a
daily basis. Among the college-educated in the
general US population, men report similar flexibility regarding start times, while women report
somewhat less flexibility.
Although the investment profession is correctly
recognized as one where people must work very
hard, there may be an assumption that this
precludes flexibility. The survey findings show,
however, that there is in fact a significant amount
of flexibility already in the industry. Working with
employees—both men and women—to determine
flexible arrangements as needed to attract and retain talent is good business practice. Our survey
results indicate that temporal flexibility in work
hours in the investment profession is close to the
norm for college-educated workers.
E
LIF
LY
I
M
60%
51%
55%
UNITED STATES
REST OF WORLD
64%
42%
40%
ER S
51%
%S
10
ATIS
FI
PU
E D W I T H ( M A IN )
JO B
UT
ST
IT
40%
IN
30%
51%
PO
39%
EM
LAT
EM B
IO N
66%
%
ALL
VER
YO
PP
HA
% SATISF
IED
WI
TH
FA
HOW HAPPY ARE INVESTMENT
PROFESSIONALS?
A
CF
To understand whether finance is an appealing career for both men and women, we asked
CFA members about their overall happiness,
job satisfaction, and satisfaction with family
life. Adams et al. compare the responses of CFA
members to members of the general population;
the general population results are on the inner
circles, while the CFA member results are on the
outer circles. The figure further differentiates
between results for the US (blue) and the rest
of world (green), since US residents consistently
report higher happiness levels. All values are the
combined totals of those who report being “very
happy” or “completely happy.”
Compared to the general population, CFA members report similar overall happiness levels, slightly higher satisfaction with family life, and slightly
lower satisfaction with their jobs. These findings
hold true in the US and the rest of the world.
While the underlying reason for these differences
requires further analysis, there does not appear to
be a significant gender gap in these results.
WHO VALUES GENDER DIVERSE
INVESTMENT TEAMS?
69.5%
CLIENT AND INDUSTRY VIEWPOINTS
36.9%
48.2%
DIVERSITY = PREFERRED ENVIRONMENT
29.1%
24.8%
44.5%
46.6%
24.5%
23.2%
30.8%
30.1%
Most women CFA members (70%) and nearly
half of all CFA members (48%) believe that mixed
gender teams of investment professionals lead to
better investment performance results because
of more diverse viewpoints. This difference is interesting since it is more likely that the women
respondents have been in gender diverse groups
and have witnessed the benefits firsthand.
11.5%
26.6%
19.0%
30.9%
The first option is a belief in the value of cognitive
diversity to achieve better outcomes, while the second is a desire for fairness.
36.9%
48.2%
DIVERSITY DOES NOT MATTER
42.5%
INSTITUTIONAL
INVESTORS
33.9%
26.8%
0%
c) Gender diversity
does not matterRETAIL
when it
CFA INSTITUTE
MEMBERS
INVESTORS
comes to managing investments.
WOMEN
MEN
TOTAL = BETTER PERFORMANCE
DIVERSITY
69.5%
b) I don’t believe mixed gender teams lead to
better investment performance results, but
I prefer to work for a firm (or invest with a
firm) whose corporate culture is supportive
of gender diversity.
29.1%
24.8%
24.5%
23.2%
11.5%
26.6%
a) I believe mixed gender teams lead to better investment performance results because
of more diverse viewpoints.
33.9%
26.8%
30.8%
30.1%
19.0%
30.9%
44.5%
46.6%
42.5%
Opinions regarding the importance of gender
DIVERSITY = BETTER PERFORMANCE
diversity for investment performance and the
ENVIRONMENT
workplace environment vary. In DIVERSITY
a series= PREFERRED
of
DIVERSITY DOES
surveys, CFA members, retail investors,
and NOT MATTER
institutional investors were asked the following
question:11 When it comes to the gender diversity
of a team of investment professionals, which one
of the following best describes your view?
0%
CFA INSTITUTE
MEMBERS
RETAIL
INVESTORS
INSTITUTIONAL
INVESTORS
11
A majority of those CFA members (55%) who
don’t share that belief nevertheless prefer
working for a firm whose corporate culture is
supportive of gender diversity.
Only 12% of women CFA members report that
gender diversity doesn’t matter when it comes
to managing investments; 27% of men CFA
members express a similar view. In contrast,
their clients—retail investors (46%) and institutional investors (45%)—are much more
likely to say that gender diversity does not
matter for managing investments. Moreover,
the answers of retail investors do not differ by
gender, while the answers of institutional investors differ by gender in similar ways that
we observe in the CFA membership but to a
lesser extent.
An interesting dynamic here is that while clients
might appear to care less about gender diversity,
there is a vocal minority in this group. In fact,
the increased attention to this subject in the
industry can be attributed in part to institutional investors who have started asking their
prospective or existing money managers to
disclose their gender diversity. As one example,
the California State Teachers’ Retirement
System prompted State Street Global Advisors
to create the SSGA Gender Diversity Index
ETF (ticker: SHE) in 2016 and seeded it with a
$250 million investment. This exchange-traded
fund (ETF) invests in firms with higher levels of
gender diversity at senior levels, and several other
funds have been recently introduced.
12
CONCLUSION
In summary, we find the following
conclusions useful to the investment
industry in attracting and retaining
women professionals:
• Pursue university outreach to let
women know of investing as a career,
although building math and technical
skills must begin even earlier.
• Make potential entrants to the field
aware of the current flexibility within it.
• Educate firms on the importance of
work structure and flexibility in attracting a gender diverse workforce.
We suggest that investment industry
firms have had an unnecessary and
unrecognized constraint on their talent,
and the firms that can more fully realize
the potential of all the talent available
to them will have an advantage in the
future. This requires developing an employee value proposition, grounded in a
firm culture that emphasizes intrinsic
motivators, such as development opportunities, collegiality, autonomy and
responsibility, and purpose.
We also find evidence suggesting strong
business- and values-driven support for
greater diversity, in which gender diversity is simply one particularly significant case of diversity. More attention
and research are needed to explore
how diversity can contribute positively to
certain types of investment decisions. The
theory is that diversity matters because
diverse groups of people bring different
perspectives to problems and, thus, better
ways of solving them. With the complex
problems faced in investment situations,
groups can get stuck if they have limited diversity where everyone thinks in the same
way. Such difficulties are far less likely if the
diversity is deep and derived from wider
sources of knowledge, perspectives, experience, values, and ways of thinking.
This brings forward one final thought on
the significance of behavioral context. The
growth of behavioral finance in recent
years has not only demonstrated how our
emotions can impact investment decisions,
but it has also awakened the industry to the
persistence of biases that can hamper performance. These biases—both conscious
and unconscious—affect all investment
industry workplaces as well. While reasons
driving firms to seek greater diversity may
differ, effective understanding of workforce
makeup and motivations are critical contributors to the collaborative cultures we
need in the investment industry.
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NOTES
1
View a list at www.cfainstitute.org/WIM.
For two recent reviews of the literature on corporate
board diversity and firm performance, see Renée Adams,
“Women on Boards: The Superheroes of Tomorrow?” Leadership Quarterly, vol. 27, no. 3 (2016): 371–386 (http://
dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2015.11.001) and Deborah Rhode
and Amanda Packel, “Diversity on Corporate Boards: How
Much Difference Does Difference Make?” Delaware Journal of Corporate Law, vol 39, no. 2 (2014): www.djcl.org/
volume-39/2014-%e2%80%a2-volume-39-%e2%80%a2number-2-2. Analyses of women CEOs are hampered by
the fact that there are only 22 women CEOs in the S&P 500
Index. (See Catalyst. Women CEOs of the S&P 500. New
York: Catalyst, July 1, 2016).
2
John R. Graham, Campbell R. Harvey, Jillian A. Popadak,
and Shivaram Rajgopal, “Corporate Culture: Evidence from
the Field,” Duke I&E Research Paper No. 2016-33 (July 7,
2016): http://ssrn.com/abstract=2805602.
3
For example, see Anita Williams Woolley, Ishani Aggarwal,
and Thomas W. Malone, “Collective Intelligence and Group
Performance,” Current Directions in Psychological Science,
vol. 24, no. 6 (2015): 420–424 (https://www.researchgate.
net/publication/286512331_Collective_Intelligence_and_
Group_Performance).
4
Renée Adams, Brad Barber, and Terrance Odean, “Family,
Values, and Women in Finance,” working paper, 2016: http://
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2827952.
5
6
Adams et al. (2016).
American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), “The Most Important
Issues for Women in the Accounting Profession”: www.
aicpa.org/interestareas/youngcpanetwork/resources/
career/pages/themostimportantissuesforwomenintheac
countingprofession.aspx.
7
American Medical Association (AMA), “Here’s What This
Year’s Medical Class Looks Like,” AMA Wire (November 2,
2015): www.ama-assn.org/ama/ama-wire/post/heres-thisyears-medical-class-looks-like.
8
American Bar Association (ABA), “A Current Glance at
Women in the Law,” report, ABA Commission on Women in
the Profession (July 2014): www.americanbar.org/content/
dam/aba/marketing/women/current_glance_statistics_
july2014.authcheckdam.pdf.
9
L. Guiso, F. Monte, and P. Sapienza, “Culture, Gender, and
Math,” Science, vol. 320, no. 5880 (30 May 2008): 1164–1165
(http://science.sciencemag.org/con tent/320/5880/1164)
10
CFA member opinions are from the May 2016 survey. Retail
investor opinions (N = 3,312) and institutional investor opinions (N = 502) were gathered by Edelman Berland on behalf of
CFA Institute via an online survey in October/November 2015.
11
14
The goal of the CFA Institute Women in
Investment Management Initiative is to
improve investor outcomes by encouraging
diversity in the investment management
profession globally. By working with CFA
members and other industry leaders, we aim
to bring more women into the investment
profession, support their career success,
and encourage employers to realize the
business value of diverse teams.
The Future of Finance is a long-term
global effort to shape a trustworthy,
forward-thinking investment profession
that better serves society. It provides the
tools to motivate and empower the world
of finance to promote fairness, improved
understanding, and personal integrity. Its
success is driven by ongoing input from an
advisory council of prominent global leaders
and others in the financial community.
The CFA Institute Research Foundation is
a not-for-profit organization that sponsors
independent research for investors and
investment professionals around the
world. The foundation’s activities support
the CFA Institute mission of promoting the
highest standards of ethics, education, and
professional excellence for the ultimate
benefit of society.
CONTRIBUTING PARTNERS
RENÉE ADAMS
Professor of Finance
Commonwealth Bank Chair in Finance
Australian School of Business
University of New South Wales
BRAD BARBER
Associate Dean
Professor of Finance
Graduate School of Management
University of California, Davis
TERRANCE ODEAN
Rudd Family Foundation Professor of
Finance
Haas School of Business
University of California, Berkeley
EDITOR
REBECCA FENDER, CFA
Head, Future of Finance
CFA Institute
CONTRIBUTORS
LEAH BENNETT, CFA
LAUREN FOSTER
MARGARET FRANKLIN, CFA
DIANE GARNICK
PAUL SMITH, CFA
ROGER URWIN, FSIP
©2016 CFA Institute. All rights reserved.
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