Gender equality is not "only" a social and civil pillar. The world of finance is also increasingly attentive to recognising – and rewarding – those who guarantee men and women the same rights and the same responsibilities. Proof of this is Bloomberg's decision to found the Financial Services Gender-Equality Index, an index that monitors a basket of financial companies from around the world selected precisely because they guarantee equal treatment for men and women.

Who enters and who leaves the gender equality index

At the end of January, Bloomberg updated the list of companies, which grew from 26 to 52, headquartered in 17 countries. To select them, it first sent a questionnaire to a number of financial services companies (banks, insurance firms and so on) listed on the US stock exchange, with a market capitalisation of at least 15 billion dollars. Based on the responses provided, it assigned a score to their gender equality policies, arriving at the final list.

What gender equality means and why it matters so much

But how do the companies in the sample actually behave? On average, female representation on the board of directors stands at 24.2 per cent. Eighty-three per cent of these companies support financial education programmes aimed at women, 73 per cent have introduced gender quotas for managerial roles, and 75 per cent have specific programmes for returning to work after maternity leave.

Bloomberg's aims with this index are multiple. First and foremost, monitoring progress on gender equality. Then, responding to the growing sensitivity among investors worldwide towards ESG (environment, social and governance) issues. All the more so because, according to some studies, companies with women at the top deliver better economic and financial performance.

In Italy the pay gap is still too wide

Italy, in this area, still has a great deal to learn. Starting with salaries. In December 2016, Istat published its first analysis of pay variability in the private sector, based on 2014 data. It reveals that the average hourly wage for women is 13 euros, compared with 14.8 euros for men: the gap is -12.2 per cent. A gap that widens with higher levels of education: a woman with a degree earns on average 16.1 euros per hour, compared with 23.2 euros for a man with a degree. We can breathe a partial sigh of relief when we consider the fact that, across the economy as a whole, the Italian gender pay gap is among the lowest in Europe. But this figure stems from an average between the public sector (which guarantees far greater equity) and the private sector (where the imbalances are concentrated).