Inspiring women leaders in banking

The country's financial sector enjoys abundant examples of women empowerment.

- KEISHA TA-ASAN

From regulatory-related entities, women perform leadership roles that are crucial to organizational success.

More women are taking control of their households' wealth management. More women are taking the helm in running businesses. And more women leaders are driving positive change into the industry itself.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is one of the institutions that recognize the importance of empowering women. The BSP's commitment to gender equality is a reflection of the significant contributions women have made to the financial sector and the broader economy throughout the years.

In its latest Financial Inclusion Survey, the BSP said women outranked men in 2021 when it comes to financial account ownership, smartphone and internet access, online financial transactions, use of formal credit, fund transfer remittances, and financial literacy.

Females also made significantly more payments than males, highlighting a woman's greater role in payment transactions, the central bank earlier said.

As the regulator of the country's monetary policy and financial system, the BSP has also enabled women's active participation in policy formulation, implementation and supervision.

As of end 2023, the BSP has a total of 6,080 active employees wherein 54.75 percent were male, and 45.25 percent were female. The percentage of women in the BSP workforce has been steady over the past seven years.