The Financial Services Institute of Australasia (FINSIA)
FINSIA is a not-for-profit membership association for financial services professionals in Australia and New Zealand. FINSIA is the only professional membership body that represents the entire financial services industry across Australasia. Its members include CEOs of the major banks, executives from over half the ASX 200 and today’s leading fintech entrepreneurs.
FINSIA’s mission is to help deepen trust in financial services by raising standards of professionalism in banking and financial services. FINSIA provides resources for its members to network, build thought leadership and accelerate their careers.
FINSIA is at the forefront of the gender diversity debate. It has championed the need for change in the industry through research and advocacy. In its landmark report ‘Closing the Talent Gap’ in 2008, FINSIA identified how the lack of women in senior executive and business line roles in the industry created a significant talent gap in the industry. FINSIA played a central role in the introduction of the ASX Corporate Governance Principles on diversity and the recommendations that companies establish “measurable objectives” for gender diversity in 2010.
FINSIA research shows that changing the perception about the roles of men and women is critical to improving gender diversity at all levels of the financial services industry. In 2010 FINSIA conducted the inaugural Gender Divide Survey, which bi-annually measures attitudes to gender equality in the financial services industry and shifts in those attitudes over time. FINSIA major publications include ‘Mythbusters – Seven Myths about Women and Work’ (2010) by Catherine Fox, ‘The Diversity Dividend’ (2011) and the Gender Performance Reporting Guidelines (2013) a collaboration with Women on Boards.
In 2014 FINSIA produced the video series Lightbulb Moments featuring industry leaders talking about why gender diversity is important to business performance and to them personally. FINSIA produced the video series ‘They Say…’, profiling women at various career stages and the challenges they face as women in the industry. In 2013 FINSIA also initiated the workplace event Bring our Daughters to Work Day.
FINSIA was pivotal as a member of the Coalition for Working Women in preventing the repeal of legislation on gender diversity performance reporting to the WGEA. FINSIA continues its campaign for improved gender diversity performance though a range of initiatives and events, and sees this campaign as closely aligned to its vision for increased