Remarks by
Martin J. Gruenberg
Chairman
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
at the
Women in Housing & Finance
Thank You Reception for FDIC Chairman Gruenberg
Washington, D.C.
January 30, 2018
Martin J. Gruenberg
Chairman
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
at the
Women in Housing & Finance
Thank You Reception for FDIC Chairman Gruenberg
Washington, D.C.
January 30, 2018
1
Thank you, Barbara Ryan and Leslie Woolley for those kind introductions.
Thank you to Women in Housing & Finance for this honor. I am deeply touched by this
recognition.
I would note that Women in Housing & Finance was started in 1979. Next year you will
celebrate your 40th anniversary. I would also note that I started my first job in Washington as an
aide to the Congressman from my home district in the Bronx, a wonderful man named Jonathan
Bingham, in 1979. So there is some symmetry here.
Today’s event gives me the opportunity to discuss what an important and necessary role your
organization has played during the past 40 years in advancing opportunities for women in
housing and financial services, both in the private and public sectors.
Without a doubt, significant progress has been made during that period, in no small measure I
suspect because of the efforts of WHF. According to a GAO report, women represented 45
percent of managers in the financial services industry between 2007 and 2015, significantly
higher than the share of women in the professional services sector overall.
At the same time, according to GAO, the share of women in senior management in the financial
services industry remained steady at approximately 30 percent from 2007 until 2015. None of
the CEOs of the top 20 banks in the United States today is a woman.
I worked on the staff of the Senate Banking Committee for nearly 20 years. I cannot recall
during my service on the committee a single female CEO testifying on behalf of a major
financial institution.
Clearly there is more work to do.
WHF has created a network of women during its history that includes representatives from
financial institutions, trade associations, federal and state regulatory agencies, government-
Thank you, Barbara Ryan and Leslie Woolley for those kind introductions.
Thank you to Women in Housing & Finance for this honor. I am deeply touched by this
recognition.
I would note that Women in Housing & Finance was started in 1979. Next year you will
celebrate your 40th anniversary. I would also note that I started my first job in Washington as an
aide to the Congressman from my home district in the Bronx, a wonderful man named Jonathan
Bingham, in 1979. So there is some symmetry here.
Today’s event gives me the opportunity to discuss what an important and necessary role your
organization has played during the past 40 years in advancing opportunities for women in
housing and financial services, both in the private and public sectors.
Without a doubt, significant progress has been made during that period, in no small measure I
suspect because of the efforts of WHF. According to a GAO report, women represented 45
percent of managers in the financial services industry between 2007 and 2015, significantly
higher than the share of women in the professional services sector overall.
At the same time, according to GAO, the share of women in senior management in the financial
services industry remained steady at approximately 30 percent from 2007 until 2015. None of
the CEOs of the top 20 banks in the United States today is a woman.
I worked on the staff of the Senate Banking Committee for nearly 20 years. I cannot recall
during my service on the committee a single female CEO testifying on behalf of a major
financial institution.
Clearly there is more work to do.
WHF has created a network of women during its history that includes representatives from
financial institutions, trade associations, federal and state regulatory agencies, government-