ECB taking further steps to address gender imbalance - Isabel Schnabel

Fresh measures taken by the European Central Bank to tackle gender imbalances will also contribute to better policies, a top official says.

“Creating a culture in which diverse points of view and a wide range of skills are valued is essential – not just to redress the persistent gender imbalance in the profession, but also to protect against institutional groupthink, thus safeguarding the quality of the ECB’s monetary policy decisions,” said Isabel Schnabel in a speech today (September 28).

The ECB executive board member said the barriers women face in the economics profession and central banking can be mitigated through targeted programmes.

For instance, after the ECB’s diversity strategy launched in 2010 and the introduction of gender targets in 2013, the gender gap in the probability of promotion has decreased markedly. “Our recently announced gender strategy for the period 2020–26 seeks to build on these encouraging results by setting ambitious targets for gender representation across the ECB’s entire organisational hierarchy,” said Schnabel.

The central bank offered the Women in Economics scholarship in 2019, a programme supporting female master’s students who may be prevented from pursuing their studies by financial constraints. The ECB is also expanding its existing Women in Leadership staff training programme.

Additionally, the ECB subsidises childcare for its staff. This makes sure parents can leave their offspring at crèches with well-qualified staff and opening hours that match a standard working day.