Sarah Arapta, the Citibank managing director and UBA chairperson is among the few women in top banking sector jobs. Photo / File
Women dominated banking sector jobs for the year ended December 2023, according to a report by Uganda Bankers Association (UBA).
In details contained in the December 2023 Annual Report, UBA notes that employment in the banking sector increased by 0.3 percent or 66 jobs to 19,428 from 19,362 in December 2022.
The report, which reviews the performance of financial markets and associated sectors on different parameters, further notes that women hold the largest share of banking sector jobs compared to men.
For instance, details indicate that out of the 19,428 available jobs, women hold 53 percent or 10,384, which is at least 1,340 higher than the 47 percent or 9,044 held by men.
Dfcu recently appointed Ms Kate Kiiza as new executive director. She is among the few women in top banking sector jobs. Photo / File
The share of women employees in the banking sector has been growing at the expense of men, increasing from 52 percent or 9,984 in December 2022 to 53 percent, while the share of men has dropped from 48 percent to 47 percent, which is an illustration that men might be losing some jobs to women.
However, Ms Patricia Amito, the UBA communications manager, said yesterday that whereas the figures show that women dominate banking sector jobs, when it comes to rising up the radar the number narrows, noting that there was need to work towards seeing more women take on managerial jobs.
“There is need to provide supporting programmes to increase the number [at the top] to at least half,” she said, adding that through mentorship, more women could scale into top leadership.
The report indicates that during the period, the share of women at the level of chief executive and deputy chief executive officer, stood at 11 percent or 15 out of the available 61 positions, which was way lower compared to men, who held 75 percent or 46 of the available top jobs.
The report further indicates that at 61 percent, men dominate the exco jobs, taking up 191 out of the available 312 positions, while women take up just 39 percent or 121 of the 312 jobs.
Men’s dominance continues into senior management positions with a percentage share of 60 percent or 559 jobs out of the available 930, compared to 40 percent or 371 jobs for women.
The UBA report indicates that majority of women in the banking sector are employed in lower cadre jobs. Photo / Edgar R Batte
However, the share becomes more favourable to women among lower cadre jobs, some of which, they take up a 50-50 percent share with men such roles in junior management and supervisory jobs, but dominate in entry or junior-level positions.
The report indicates that during the period, there were 2,021 men employed in junior management and supervisory jobs, compared to 2,040 women in similar roles, while 6,120 men, or 44 percent were employed in entry or junior-level positions, compared to 7,865 women or 56 percent.
The report lists Brac, Equity, Finance Trust, KCB, Post Bank, Pride Micro Finance, UDB, and United Bank for Africa as some of the banks employing more women than men.
Centenary Bank holds the largest share of employee positions at 3,305, which is at least 17 percent of the total 19,428 banking sector jobs.
Centenary is followed by Brac, which employs 1,925 people, Stanbic (1,917) and Equity, with a staff register of 1,501 employees.
Other banks with large staff numbers include dfcu, which employs 1,258 people, Post Bank (1,185), Absa (1,141), and Pride Micro Finance (1,043).
How jobs are shared between men and women in the banking sector
Level | Men | Women |
CEO and Deputy CEO | 75% | 11% |
Exco | 61% | 39% |
Senior management | 60% | 40% |
Manager and supervisor | 50% | 50% |
Other staff | 44% | 56% |
Total number of staff | 47% | 53% |
