Concluding Remarks of a Conference on ‘Diversity and Gender Equality in the Banks’

Both academics and practitioners have been often involved in the long-standing discussion on gender parity. This paper – which reports the conclusions of a recent conference on such topic – sought to explore the main reasons why women remain under-represented in senior and middle management positions within the financial sector. Building on the idea that gender diversity may improve key performance indicators, the study focuses primarily on the argument that – even though several barriers are still restricting women's access to managerial roles – stereotypes and other bias must be overcome in order to enhance female contribution to the overall success of the business. However, as highlighted in the analysis, career progression needs to follow the basic principles of meritocracy since individuals must be evaluated according to their skills and competences – and so independently of their own gender