Intersectional and inclusive diversity in the corporate elite? The case of the financial sector

In finance, diversity is crucial given the key fiduciary role played by the financial sector in our integrated global society and economy (Arnaboldi et al., 2021; Girardone, Kokas and Wood, 2021; Menicucci and Paolucci, 2022). Kara et al. (2022) found that, even during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, more gender-diverse boards in banks and financial institutions supported their customers, communities and the economy in a more incisive and effective manner. However, the concept of diversity in the economics profession and in the financial sector mainly arose after economists’ failure to predict the last financial crisis.3 In fact, after the 2007–08 financial crisis, the creation of an environment that could encourage diverse and dissenting views was promoted as an International Monetary Fund (IMF) key goal. According to the past chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Janet Yellen: ‘research by economists and other social scientists supports the view that considering a diversity of perspectives and ideas leads to better decisions in an organization’ (Yellen, 2014, n.p.). And recently, in its Diversity and Inclusion Statement of September 20204 the IMF reiterated its strong and unwavering commitment to diversity and inclusion.