Anthony Botelho will become the next president of the 100-year-old Rhode Island Bankers Association next week. The president and CEO of Smithfield-based Freedom National Bank sees little that needs changing in the lobbying group's agenda, with one very notable exception: the need for more diversity in leadership in the local industry.
The numbers in this week's cover story make the need for change clear: Women hold two-thirds of the jobs in the state's banking workforce but only about one-third of the senior and C-suite positions. And racial and ethnic minorities, regardless of gender, have an even tougher time getting into leadership positions, holding only 2 percent of the latter leadership posts.
Comparable national numbers on women in banking leadership are scarce, though American Banker reported last year that three women held the title of CEO among the nation's nearly 100 largest bank-holding companies. The story for minorities in leadership positions appears only slightly better nationally than it is in Rhode Island.
But the need for change need not be unique to Rhode Island for the state's banking community to do more than wait for it to happen on its own. Botelho, whose two vice presidents at Freedom are women, has promised to try and use the association to call attention to the need for greater gender and racial diversity in leadership posts.
The reality, however, is only individual banks and their boards can make the issue a priority. Some have taken steps to begin the process, but much more can and should be done. •
