Sustainable Finance
Women in Finance Charter: progress and challenges for gender diversity in the financial sector
Published on 11 March 2026
The 2025 Luxembourg Women in Finance (WiF) Charter Progress Report, published by the Luxembourg Sustainable Finance Initiative (LSFI) and the Charter’s founding partners, provides new insights into the evolution of gender diversity across Luxembourg’s financial sector.
Based on data collected from 85 signatory organisations representing nearly 31,000 employees, the report highlights gradual progress alongside persistent structural challenges, particularly at the most senior leadership levels.
Banks remain the largest subsector represented among the signatories, with the number of participating organisations increasing from 78 in 2024 to 85 in 2025.
Summary
Gradual progress in senior management
The report shows that women’s representation in executive and senior management positions has increased slightly.
Women now represent 32.4% of ExCo and C-Suite roles, up from 29.9% in the previous year. At the same time, however, representation at board level has declined slightly from 29.8% to 28.5%, highlighting the continued challenges in achieving gender balance at the very top of organisations.
Overall, women represent 47.1% of the workforce among signatory organisations, although part-time work remains disproportionately held by women.
Most signatories have also introduced targets to improve gender balance. These targets generally cover senior management, executive leadership and board representation, with timelines extending between 2025 and 2028.
Turning commitments into concrete action
The report also highlights the wide range of initiatives implemented by signatories to promote gender diversity and inclusive workplaces.
These include leadership development programmes, mentorship initiatives, gender-neutral recruitment processes, diverse interview panels, unconscious bias training and expanded flexible working arrangements.
Efforts to improve transparency and accountability, such as pay gap analysis and remuneration governance, also form part of the initiatives reported.
Diversity as a strategic lever for the financial sector
The importance of diversity, equity and inclusion has been emphasised on several occasions by ABBL leadership.
Speaking at a recent ABBL roundtable on inclusion and equity, Jerry Grbic, CEO of the ABBL, highlighted that diversity should not be viewed solely as a compliance requirement.
In a financial sector facing technological transformation, geopolitical uncertainty and increasing complexity, diverse teams contribute to stronger decision-making, greater innovation capacity and more effective risk management.
If diversity brings people to the table and inclusion allows them to speak, equity ensures they are valued equally once they are there.
Jerry Grbic
CEO, ABBL
Supporting inclusive workplaces
Through its work on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), the ABBL continues to support its members in strengthening inclusive workplace practices.
The ABBL’s DEI Guide and factsheets provide practical tools for financial institutions seeking to translate commitments into concrete policies and actions across governance, recruitment, leadership development and organisational culture.
Thomas Collin
Officer - Sustainability & CSR, ABBL
Published on 11 March 2026