1. Gender equality is good for business
Vera Budway
Head of Diversity & Inclusion
Erste Group Bank AG

2. LEHMAN BROTHERS SISTERS
When
„If Lehman Brothers had been a bit more Lehman Sisters... We would not have the degree of tragedy that we had as a result of what happened“ Christine Lagarde

3. Diversity drives performance
66% higher return on invested capital
56% higher EBIT margin
55% higher total shareholder return
Up to 41% higher ROE
26% better share price performance
Investors care: Barclays Women in Leadership Index, Calpers, Amazone,
Naissance Capital
- Companies that have managed to narrow the gender gap on decision-making bodies are more successful
- In Europe – how many women are in executive positions?

4. Equal participation of women in the economy, would add an additional $28 trillion or 26% to annual global GDP by 2025
SOURCE: McKinsey, “The power of parity: how advancing women´s equality can add 12 trillion to global growth”, September 2015

5. Consumer spending Female decision makers in consumer purchasing
Women
Men
USA
85%
Western Europe
70%
Eastern Europe
61%
Czech Republic
63%
In the USA
Healthcare
New homes
Vacations
Home furnishings
Cars
New bank accounts
Consumer electronics
Furthermore, international trends show that women are becoming important influencers also in industries where buyers are traditionally male
To adapt to the changing social and consumption trends, companies need to integrate women into their decision making processes across the entire customer experience
SOURCE: McKinsey, “Women Matter”, 2012

6. What does this mean for future growth & innovation ????
Gender pay gap at 23% 2nd highest in the EU after Estonia
16.7% women on Austrian Supervisory Boards
7.2% in executive positions (boards)
55% female labor market participation in Austria
19.5% on Erste boards
32.5% in top management
35% on Supervisory Boards
70% female employees in Erste Group
What is the message – there is a leadership gap which has an impact on innovation, growth & corporate performance.
% of women in executive positions in the EU vs Austria vs Erste: Boards, Supervisory Boards
Women on Boards of largest publically listed companies in the EU – 23.3%
EU average on supervisory boards – 23%
EU level / gender pay gap
What does this mean for future growth & innovation ????
Source: Eurostat