Women presence in bank boards drops to 13.51%

Although the overall number of women bank officials has risen, their representation on banks' boards of directors has declined.

By the end of 2023, the percentage of women on bank boards dropped to 13.51% from 14.22% the previous year, according to central bank data released on Monday (4 March). 

The rate of women board directors at state-owned banks was 8% at the end of last year, but there were none at specialised banks. Besides, the rate was 14.16% at private banks and 17.54% at foreign banks.

For comparison, at the end of 2022, the rate was 10% at state-owned banks, 4% at specialised banks, 14.71% at private banks, and 18.60% at foreign banks.

The Bangladesh Bank data further show the number of women bankers increased to 33,346 at the end of last year from 31,939 in 2022.

Currently, the ratio of women bank officials to their male counterparts stands at 16.37%.

Among the scheduled banks operating in the country, 43 private commercial banks have the highest number of women employees 22,248, which is 16.32% of their total employees. This is followed by six state-owned commercial banks with 8,206 (16.31%) women employees.

While nine foreign commercial banks have the lowest 981 female officials, they have the highest 24.18% women officials as compared to other banks.