Women Struggle for Equal Pay and Progression at Central Banks
IMF Blog, May 9, 2023
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Bibliographic details
- Authors: Mariarosaria Comunale, Petra de Bruxelles, D Filiz Unsal
- Published: May 9, 2023
Key findings from the IMF survey
- Less than half of workers employed in advanced economy central banks are women.
- On average only a third of women are economists or managers.
- Women occupy 80 percent of administrative and HR roles.
- 65 percent of the overall number of employees on part-time contracts are women.
- In some central banks, the share of part-time employees who are women rises to as much as 80 percent.
- Just 27 percent of women make the top 20 percent of annual earnings.
- National central banks in the Group of Seven (G7) participated, as well as the European Central Bank.
Human Resources Gender Index (HRGI) and overall assessment
- A new index, the Human Resources Gender Index (HRGI), uses a scoring from 0 to 1, with 1 being maximum equality.
- The HRGI shows that policies to eliminate gender gaps have been only partially successful.
- The ranges and wide variation in scores suggest participating central banks could do more to reduce the gender gap.
- Central banks score highly on diversity policies such as hiring targets, mentoring programs, and guaranteed interview schemes, but these are:
- Rarely enforced by law.
- Often limited to people with disabilities.
Employment patterns, pay, and benefits
- Occupational segregation is pervasive: women are concentrated in administrative and HR roles while being underrepresented among economists and managers.
- Part-time contracts, while offering flexibility, can limit women’s career progression and contribute to the small number of women in managerial positions.
- Childcare and related subsidies are limited.
- Parental leave and flexible work arrangements are widely offered.
Implications and next steps
- Central banks can set high gender standards for other economic institutions and should strengthen efforts to reduce gender gaps.
- The IMF plans to extend the coverage of this survey to more central banks in both advanced and developing economies, in line with the IMF’s strategy on gender and evidence on the economic benefits of diversity and equality.
Based on the IMF blog post “Women Struggle for Equal Pay and Progression at Central Banks,” authors Mariarosaria Comunale, Petra de Bruxelles, D. Filiz Unsal (May 9, 2023), and the IMF working paper titled “Who are Central Banks: Gender, Human Resources and Central Banking.”