Editor’s Picks #16: The bleak reality of female representation

Hello,

The past week has been dominated by one key discussion point, which was the latest iteration of Citywire’s annual Alpha Female report - a measure of how much female fund managers are really represented across the industry.

The 2023 publication, which was expertely coordinated by Margaryta Kirakosian , sadly made for bleak reading in its results

The much-discussed lift in female representation from last year amounted to a rise of just 0.1 percentage points – going from 12.0% to 12.1% year-on-year.

Where does the route of the problem lie?

Caroline Hug 's illuminating panel with Barings ' Omotunde Lawal , Schroders ' Alix Stewart and Allspring Global Investments ' Lauren van Biljon, CFA highlighted the challenges that exist for female investment professionals in terms family commitments, work expectations and also prevalent attitudes (Full video here).

The video write-up picked up that, due to her first name being ‘Alix’, Stewart often fielded calls from people expecting a man on the other end of the line. There were multiple occasions where people would ask to speak to the real ‘Alex’, after mistaking her for a secretary.

Linked to the report was the litany of wilfully ignorant or even rampantly wrong comments that were placed under the videos across various Citywire sites – from questions over authenticity of the reporting to the boringly repetitive request for an evidently redundant ‘Alpha Male’ report to be published.

But, were there positives to take away? Yes and no. Fenella Rhodes zeroed in on the fact Spain and Portugal continue to post higher-than-average levels of representation but, as with most issues along these lines, nothing is black and white.

The fund buyers spoken to from those respective markets said the nations benefitted from a change in employment law on one hand, but also subject to huge amounts of tokenism and quota demands. In addition, the lower quality of living in Portugal means a double income for a family is a necessity rather than an ambition or progressive goal.

In her data-driven report, Fenella also unearthed a statistical quirk that Portugal had fallen off the radar in the official report, as the number of registered funds in Portugal has fallen below 100 and the level of represented female PMs has dropped from 26% to 24%.

Elsewhere, Krystle Higgins – who last year hosted an insightful podcast into the glacial speed of change reported in 2022 – spoke to male and female fund buyers from across Europe to gauge what has hampered take-up.

What stood out from the video filmed in Copenhagen was the resignation – Marie-Christine Lambin , a veteran of the Luxembourg fund industry, showed little shock at the limited improvement.

‘It hasn’t changed for the past 30 years, so why would it change so quickly now?’

Another year and another call for more to be done. But, will next year be the same again?

In a slight twist – and very conscious of the insult du jour ‘virtue signalling’ – I watched the Barbie movie over the past week and was taken by the messages about female support and expectations woven into a glossy meta-comedy.

A call to arms covered in the veneer of supposed silliness which has gone on to break box office records.

This isn’t anything more than modest recommendation for an entertaining film which might provide more positive surprises than those showcased Alpha Female 2023.

All the best,

Chris