The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
Socrates 469 BC
DER SPIEGEL August 29, 2013
The European Central Bank has announced plans to introduce gender quotas for top levels of management. It’s a much needed move, and one that could have a wider effect on the banking industry as a whole.
It was always so — money makes the world go round, and men make the money go round. Global banking is a male-dominated world, even in countries where the past few decades have seen great strides taken towards gender equality. In order to change that, major institutions need to take the lead in redressing the imbalance.
Step forward the European Central Bank (ECB). Its director, Jörg Asmussen, told the German dailySüddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) on Thursday that the bank is to introduce quotas for women in middle and senior management positions. By the end of 2019, it is hoped that 35 percent of the former and 28 percent of the latter will be “qualified women”, Asmussen said — up from the current level of 17 and 14 percent respectively. The gender split among the ECB’s workforce is actually fairly even, the Süddeutsche wrote, but it’s the men who call the shots at the top of the food chain.
The ECB’s board made the decision some time ago, although it is only being announced now. The implementation of this ambitious goal would require a major rethink at the central bank, Asmussen added, and critical to its success would be a “change of mentality for the current leadership” in the ECB.
The talent is there, Asmussen said. There are “sufficient well-qualified women” at the ECB, and many new top-level jobs will be created when ittakes over the task of European banking oversight next year — the perfect opportunity to enact the reforms, Asmussen told the newspaper.
They are reforms that are much-needed: On the ECB council, which plays a major role in deciding the fate of the euro, there are currently 23 men and exactly zero women. Things don’t look much better at the level below, where women fill only two out of 14 director positions.
Women Too ‘Reserved and Modest’
So far, the general opinion at the ECB has been that women are themselves partly to blame for the situation, the Süddeutsche writes, with the bank’s personnel manager Stephan Keuning saying: “Experience shows that female candidates are more reserved and modest in job interviews and presentations.” For this reason, the ECB has implemented a mentoring program to help female candidates as they work their way up the ladder.
Austrian Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell is one of just two women to have ever reached the highest levels at the ECB, serving on the board from 2003 to 2011. She told the Süddeutsche: “It is crucial that we promote women early enough and that top management clearly and openly advocates women.”
If the new policy works, it could spark similar efforts in banks elsewhere. As guardian of the euro, the ECB is one of the world’s most important banking institutions. Setting an example on gender equality could have a positive effect both on both smashing the glass ceilings faced by women in the financial industry, and on the quality of the individuals holding those jobs.
The Frankfurt-based ECB could also do wonders for its host country. The Bundesbank, Germany’s central bank, has seen just a single woman on its board in the 56 years of its existence. A law creating legally binding gender quotas for supervisory boards of German companies, meanwhile, was rejected by Germany’s parliament in April.
Doubts remain, however, about whether the ambitious goals can be met given the nature of the ECB as an extra-national body representing countries with different national interests. When it comes to appointing ECB directors, and national central bank heads on the council, politics is what matters. The euro-zone member countries suggest candidates for the board which the European parliament must agree to.
“When filling top positions at the ECB, nationality is put before gender,” Tumpel-Gugerell added. “The statute says, however, that it is about going for the best minds. This also includes women.”
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LAND SPECIALIST – LAND EXPERT – INVESTMENT BROKER – ARIZONA
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Walter Unger CCIM, CCSS, CCLS
I am a successful Commercial Investment Real Estate Broker in Arizona now for 15 years and I worked with banks and their commercial REO properties for 3 years. I am also a commercial and Landspecialist in Phoenix and a Landspecialist in Arizona.
1.
WHETHER YOU LEASE OR OWN
NOW IS THE TIME FOR YOU TO EXPAND, UPGRADE OR INVEST.
In my opinion in Arizona we are at on the a rise of the cycle in Commercial Real Estate. so there is only one way and it’s called we are going up and now is the time for you to expand, upgrade or invest in Commercial Properties in Phoenix. The prices on deals I may get you will not be around forever.
2.
IF YOU OR ANYBODY YOU KNOW IS IN TROUBLE WITH YOUR BUSINESS, AS MANY AMERICANS ARE IN THE MOMENT, AND ARE ABOUT TO LOSE YOUR COMMERCIAL PROPERTY, PLEASE CONTACT ME. IF YOUR BANK IS BEHAVING BADLY I MAY BE ABLE TO HELP YOU GET OUT OF SOME OR MAYBE A LOT OF FUTURE HEADACHES.
3.
WAITING TO SELL YOUR LAND ? TIMES CHANGE / IT’S TIME
We barely could give land away the last few years, but times are changing. Even in those meager years, I sold more land across the state than most other brokers. Before the real estate crash I was a land specialist in Arizona with millions of dollars of transactions, but then I had to change and also sell other commercial investment properties, which was fun, but I am a Commercial Landspecialist in Arizonal, a Commercial Land Specialist in Phoenix and love to sell land, one acre to thousands of acres.
Since I was a Land Specialist in Arizona and a Land Speciaost in Phoenix many of my clients, Sellers and Buyers remember me and now they are calling me again, so this is the time to get back into land and none of my clients, including future clients, will miss out on getting their best deal.
Also, if you are up-side down on your land, like many Americans, and the lender is giving you a hard time, now is the time to put your land on the market. Lenders are making deals now with short sales. I have been working with banks for many years – I learned how to work with them.
If you have any questions about the 1 to 3 above, about Commercial Investment Properties in Phoenix or Commercial Investment Properties in Arizona, I will gladly sit down with you and share my expertise and my professional opinion in Commercial Properties in Phoenix or Commercial Properties in Arizona with you.Obviously I am also in this to make money, but it could be a win-win situation for all of us.
Please reply by e-mail walterunger@ccim.net or call me 520-975-5207 (cell) 602-778-5110 (office direct).
Thank You
Walter
Walter Unger CCIM
Associate Broker
Kasten Long Commercial
2821 E. Camelback Road, Suite 600
Phoenix, AZ 85016
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