<strong>By: Sonja Saunderson, chief Investment officer of Momentum Investments</strong>

<h2>Female CIO looks at gender diversity in the South African financial services sector</h2>

If you have been to a financial services or investment event lately – the phrase “boy’s club” may well jump to mind. The financial services industry – and asset management in particular – has long been critiqued for being a male-dominated industry where the benefits of diversity are not recognised. A 2016 study* showed that in South Africa, less than 10% of all fund managers are women.

Chief Investment Officer at Momentum Investments, Sonja Saunderson, a woman who has herself defied the odds in rising through the ranks to executive level in the investment management space, is no stranger to the challenges that South African women face when wanting to get into financial roles. “As we celebrate International Women’s Day it’s a good time to look introspectively at our South African case,” she says. “While the industry is making considerable efforts to attract female talent – historical barriers such as skills pipeline issues and gender-based pay gap issues continue to place pressure on our gender diversity levels.”

Saunderson also points to a 2016 report* which explains that retention of female talent is also an issue in the financial services sector. “Women enter the financial services industry with the same drive and determination as their male colleagues. They maintain this ambition for the first years of their career – and in most cases, those in their later career also displayed the same drive. But it is during the mid-section of their careers when a substantial disparity emerges between men and women as women tend not to display the same readiness to make personal sacrifices in their private lives – possibly due to a number of reasons.”