Financial sector confidential. Diversity in finance from the voice of insiders

This research fits into the broader debate about the role of feminism in organizations in neoliberalist times, by focusing on the governance’ dysfunctions of the financial institutions that are central players in our highly-financialised economic paradigm. The qualitative findings present the subjective perceptions of reality from 27 financial sector’ insiders and investigate the socio-biographical trajectories of the financial elites. By adopting an intersectional perspective, the research reveals a cover-up for resistant rhetoric and a market driven language, showing the lack of reflection on internal mechanisms and discursive practices, particularly on language, hiring, career development and management performance criteria, those being considered the organizational channels for a inclusive and intersectional diversity. Implications of such cosmetic diversity are discussed, including how the policy pressure on diversity seem to have produced mostly a numerical increase of women rather than the substantial inclusion of broader individual socio-biographical trajectories of financial insiders.