EU Investment Firms Faced 32% Gender Pay Gap in 2023, Says European Banking Authority

• Women in EU investment firms earned 32 percent less than men in 2023
• Results were documented by the European Banking Authority (EBA)
• Bonus ratios had gone as high as 521 percent in certain industries

As per the European Banking Authority (EBA), women in EU investment firms made 32 percent less than males in 2023. Women's share among the best-remunerated roles also saw the figure hovering significantly below. The bonus percentages in some categories saw an incidence of as high as 521 percent. Women did not even register a noticeable appearance in top ranks.

On 15 April 2025, EBA published its most recent remuneration and gender pay gap benchmarking report, which unveiled the fact that a considerable gender pay gap still prevails among EU banks and investment businesses.

The report indicated that, on average, women working in banking institutions received 24.48 percent less than men in 2023. Of employees with a tangible influence on risk "identified staff" as they are called—the difference was 21.64 percent. In EU investment firms, the difference was even greater: women received 32 percent less than their male counterparts, and the difference among identified staff was 31.74 percent. The EBA explained this largely due to females being underrepresented in higher-paid jobs.

While general staff gender composition was almost equal, with a median of 51.65 percent women across institutions, the figures declined sharply in investment firms, where women comprised only 35.43 percent of the staff. Even in the highest-paying quartile, women occupied only 33.45 percent of the highest-paying positions in institutions and a paltry 12.99 percent in investment firms.

For the first time, the EBA's yearly remuneration report contained a separate section on the gender pay gap across all employees, including high-impact roles. The action was intended to introduce increased transparency to pay practices across the EU financial services industry.

The report also discussed compensation trends between 2021 and 2023. Whereas bank compensation practices continued relatively unchanged, investment companies experienced a spike in the variable (bonus) to fixed pay ratio after the implementation of the Investment Firms Directive (IFD). The ratio of 145.85 percent in 2023 was for identified personnel in investment companies compared to 191.42 percent in 2022 but still much higher than 59.59 percent in banking institutions.

Investment companies also exhibited significantly more volatile bonus schemes, fueled by their profitability variations and business models. The most volatile bonuses were in businesses such as proprietary trading, underwriting, and placement of financial instruments—space where the average bonus ratio increased to an unprecedented 521 percent in 2023. Bonus ratios in other business lines ranged from 35 percent to 120 percent.