Gender Parity in Currency – Some Way Still to Go

In case you missed it, 8 March was International Women’s Day. It was an opportunity for organisations to celebrate the achievements of the women in their workforce, notably on social media. The currency industry, traditionally viewed as a bastion of male dominance, was no exception.

It’s a women’s world! Some of the 250+ female participants at the recent Currency+Identity conference in Milan.

But how diverse are we really, and how far have we come in terms of gender parity?

Back in the day, and we are talking a good 20 years ago or more, as good a way as any to assess the gender diversity of the industry was to sit at the back of the conference room at industry gatherings and survey the backs of delegates’ heads. The picture used to be a near uniform one of short hair, or no hair. In other words, virtually all were men.