The share of women occupying the most senior positions at major financial institutions has risen to a record level, according to the latest annual Gender Balance Index (GBI) produced by the London-based OMFIF think tank. Women now hold 19% of leading roles across central and commercial banks, sovereign and pension funds, up from 16% the previous year.
The report, which draws on data from 335 institutions, signals incremental progress but also underscores the distance remaining to true parity. On an overall scale where 100 would represent gender balance, the GBI score stands at 44, meaning institutions are less than halfway to equal representation at the top.
While the proportion of women in broader senior roles edged up only slightly to 33%, the study found that rising into the very top position remains unusually difficult. "Even with the rate of improvement seen in recent years, it would still take 22 years for the GBI score to reach an average of 100," the report’s author Andrea Correa said, adding that the timeframe could extend further.
Regional and institutional breakouts
North America showed a marked improvement in the index, with its score climbing to 82. The report framed that rise as particularly notable given political pressure in the United States aimed at limiting diversity, equity and inclusion programmes. "It was a little bit of a surprise," Correa said. "Institutions have had to be more careful with their public messages (about equality), but they are still committed to it."
Central banks delivered the clearest gains in female leadership: a record 35 of the 185 central banks included in the index are now led by women. The Federal Reserve was highlighted as a contributor to U.S. improvements, where six regional bank presidents are women.
Sovereign wealth funds also improved, recording their largest five-year uptick with the share of female CEOs rising to 18%.
Areas of persistent weakness
Commercial banks lagged behind other institution types. Among the 50 commercial banks surveyed, only seven have women serving as chief executive officers. Pension funds slipped slightly, with the number of female heads falling to 11 from 12 the prior year.
Pipeline issues remain acute. The overall share of women in executive C-suite roles remained unchanged at 20%, and nearly half of the commercial banks in the index still have no women in their C-suite.
The report introduced a "glass ceiling ratio" to quantify how representation narrows toward the very top. The index-wide glass ceiling ratio is 0.56, signifying that women occupy top roles at just over half the rate that would be expected from their presence in leadership more broadly. Commercial banks score lowest among institution types on this metric at 0.41, reflecting a combination of relatively higher representation in senior roles but much lower presence in the top job.
"There is still a ceiling for women," Correa said, noting that reaching the top often requires long working hours. "That is often difficult for women because of child care and their role in households," she said, describing the dynamic as a "persistent promotion bottleneck."
Implications and takeaways
The GBI shows measurable improvement in women’s representation at the highest levels of major financial institutions, with central banks and sovereign funds driving much of the advance. However, the index’s overall score and the new glass ceiling ratio illustrate that progress is uneven across institution types and that barriers remain in promotion paths toward chief executive roles.
No new projections beyond the report’s stated timelines are offered; the author cautions that, even at recent rates of change, two decades or more could be required to achieve full balance according to the index’s methodology.
The study’s detailed breakdowns by institution type and region provide a snapshot of where female leadership has strengthened and where structural obstacles persist.