Women’s Advancement in Banking in Emerging South Asian Countries: Findings and Recommendations for Nepal

Global evidence is mounting that more gender diversity in banking, including having more women in leadership, leads to better outcomes for organizations, their employees, and investors. While this insight is global, the barriers and pathways to achieving greater women’s representation in leadership vary by country and region. In 2022-23, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) initiated a multi-country research study focusing on women’s advancement in private commercial banking in South Asia. The study covered three countries: Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. It initiated this study to identify opportunities that can help achieve more equitable work outcomes for women employees in the industry. 

While the insights and recommendations of the wider study are compiled in a multi-country report, this edition is a complementary country brief focused on Nepal. It spotlights the key findings that emerged from the country and is based on an employee survey covering 2054 employees (1101 women, 953 men) across six private commercial banks and an organization survey filled by the human resource departments of five of these banks. This brief is intended to help industry actors—C-suite leaders in commercial banks, policymakers, industry bodies, and investors—direct their efforts toward increasing the representation of women in the industry’s leadership.