Conservative Banking Sector This Year 'Strong Female Presence'... "Glass Ceiling Still High"

Shinhan Bank Manager-Level Promotions: Female Ratio Up 10%P Compared to 3-Year Average
Continuous Institutional Improvements and Cultural Innovation Needed in Specific Areas

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] The domestic banks' regular personnel appointments in the first half of this year have highlighted a surge of capable women. Banks have demonstrated their commitment to fostering female leaders by appointing women with proven performance and capabilities to key positions. However, there are concerns that the progress is limited to specific fields, indicating that there is still a long way to go to break the "glass ceiling." Experts advise that continuous institutional improvements and cultural innovations are necessary to overcome the conservative and rigid corporate culture of banks.

According to the financial sector on the 27th, Shinhan Bank promoted female talents and transferred many to major departments in its regular personnel appointments conducted the previous day using artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The proportion of women among those promoted to manager level was 42%, an increase of 10 percentage points compared to the average of the past three years. Earlier, in the special promotion based on comprehensive performance evaluation held on the 22nd, 7 out of 9 promoted employees were women.

Jin Ok-dong, President of Shinhan Bank, said, "How we utilize female talents with proven performance and capabilities will determine the success of future organizations," adding, "Following the previous personnel appointments, consistent strategies to nurture female talents, including promoting employees on parental leave, are gradually bearing fruit."

IBK Industrial Bank of Korea appointed two female vice presidents for the first time since its establishment and produced the largest number of female branch managers in history. In the first half regular personnel appointments, 23 out of 77 branch managers promoted were women. The number of female promotions was the second highest ever. Considering the bank's traditionally conservative culture, the fact that women accounted for 30% of branch manager promotions is regarded as exceptional.

Yoon Jong-won, President of IBK, emphasized, "We will continue to enhance the objectivity and predictability of personnel appointments based on 'fair and inclusive personnel management,'" and added, "We will achieve tangible results from full-scale 'innovative management' this year."

Hana Bank recruited female specialists in this personnel appointment and appointed them as group heads. Lee In-young, a former senior lawyer at Kim & Chang law firm and director of the Retail Finance Legal Department at SC First Bank, was appointed as the head of the newly established Consumer Risk Management Group to strengthen financial consumer protection functions.

The Export-Import Bank of Korea also selected 6 female managers (2 department heads, 4 team leaders, etc.) among 22 promoted employees this year. The bank plans to actively strive to nurture female managers.

Although the banking sector increased female appointments to senior positions this year, there are criticisms that these are limited to specific fields and that the glass ceiling remains firm compared to other industries. A source from a commercial bank pointed out, "It is a reality that women easily lose promotion opportunities due to childbirth and parental leave, and they are often targeted during voluntary retirement seasons, so opportunities are limited."

Another source said, "The proportion of female executives in commercial banks is less than 5%," and added, "In conservative banks, not only institutional improvements but also cultural innovations are necessary for female leadership to exert influence."

Voices calling for measures to break the glass ceiling for women in the financial sector have also been raised in the political arena. Bae Jin-kyo, a member of the Justice Party, argued that related institutional improvements such as setting targets for the proportion of female managers and introducing a female executive quota system are necessary to increase the proportion of women in senior positions.

Rep. Bae stated, "Childbirth and childcare lead to career interruptions for women, which results in their social status being undervalued," and added, "Measures must be put in place to allow women to break free from this structure and demonstrate their abilities."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.