As pandemic restrictions lift, indoor performances and dancing are back in Hong Kong. So is the finance world’s old boys’ club.
The sessions about navigating and creating value through uncertain times and how technology is reshaping the future of finance will feature men only, as will the keynote addresses and fireside chat. Nearly half of the speakers come from US financial firms, where women hold roughly one in three C-suite roles. In Hong Kong’s financial sector, women make up more than half of entry-level positions, and one-third of senior management positions, according to research by PwC.
Standard Chartered, Hang Seng and UBS didn’t respond to Bloomberg’s requests for comment, along with Goldman Sachs, Amundi, BNY Mellon and the Hong Kong Exchange. Citigroup and Morgan Stanley declined to comment. “In business schools, the gender ratio is 1:1; so why are those who rise to the top of the finance world disproportionately male?” said Bhattacharya, who also researches gender issues. “The problem is not with the education system, it’s after they graduate.”