WASHINGTON–A new report from CUNA has found 51% of U.S. credit union CEOs are women. While that figure that is significantly higher than banks, the CUNA data show the percentage of women who hold the top job in credit unions hasn’t changed in five years.
The same research found 33% of board members are female.
According to CUNA, the “Women in Credit Union Leadership” issues brief examines the extent to which women are represented in leadership positions at credit unions compared to commercial banks.
“Women are significantly underrepresented in executive positions across all industries, particularly within the financial services sector,” said CUNA Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Samira Salem. “America’s credit unions are bucking this trend and our research shows that women not only have a seat at the table, but also play a major role in the financial success of the institution.”
Key Findings
According to CUNA, key findings of the study include:
- A majority (51%) of credit union CEOs are women – more than 15 times higher than the rate of women CEOs at banks (3%).
- Among U.S. banks and credit unions between $1 billion to $5 billion in assets, 13% of credit union CEOs are women versus only 2% of bank CEOs.
- At both banks and credit unions, women CEOs are relatively more common at smaller institutions.
- A board member of a credit union is about twice as likely to be a woman – 33% of credit union board members are women as opposed to 16% of members of bank boards.
CUNA said its economists sampled 163 commercial banks and credit unions, with a focus on publicly traded banks with less than $10 billion in total assets. The trade association published a similar issues brief in 2018, which also reflected that women in leadership roles are significantly more common at credit unions compared to other financial institutions.
‘The Hardest Hit’
“The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed nearly three million women out of the workforce and women in senior management have been among the hardest hit,” Salem added. “Our industry is working diligently to provide opportunities for women to remain employed and to achieve equity as they move toward the C-suite. We are also encouraged by the number of women who serve on the boards of their local credit unions. While we are encouraged by our findings, we also know that there is more work to be done and we, as a movement, are committed to doing more.”
The full issue brief can be found here.