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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 21 N OV E M B E R 3 0 , 2 0 2 0 F O C U S B A N K I N G / F I N A N C E / I N S U R A N C E "My peers and I coming up together as working women and working moms mentored each other," she recalls. "Now we are sharing our experience with the next generation." Noting that Maine Community Bank's last two board openings were filled by women before her arrival, Hulit plans to leave future vacancies unfilled for now to keep the board size manageable. Longer term when there are spots to fill, she says it will be important to have a diverse board that's more reflec- tive of the bank's customers and the industry's changing workforce, now around 75% to 85% female though men still dominate in leadership roles. "e first thing you want is the right skill set," she says, "but if you have an equal pool of candidates, it's helpful to have gender diversity." Hulit's advice to young women in banking with lead- ership ambitions: Seek out board opportunities at non- profit organizations focused on economic growth as she has done at groups including the Maine International Trade Center and the University of Southern Maine Board of Visitors, both of whose boards she chaired. "at is a way to learn about your community and your state," Hulit says. "Bring your finance expertise to the table – they're always looking for bankers. You'll be adding a valuable service to them and devel- oping your skills as leaders." Based on data for the industry as a whole, those that break through the glass ceiling to lead banks or their boards of directors will find it's lonely at the top. Lonely at the top A report by the American Bankers Association published in February shows that although women represent more than half the population and degree-holding employees, and control the major- ity of household buying power, they are consistently under-represented on corporate boards and in senior executive roles. In the financial industry, it found that women are still struggling to reach parity with men at the highest levels of leadership. At S&P 500 financial firms, women make up less than 20% of board members and only 1.4% of CEOs. e same report found that most female CEOs lead banks with less than $1 billion in assets. Other research, by McKinsey & Co. and LeanIn. org in their "Women in the Workplace 2020" report, shows the female talent pool in banking shrinking from 53% at the entry level to 26% for the C-suite. e drop-off is more dramatic in asset management and institutional investing, from 43% at the entry level to 19% for the C-suite. More generally on corporate America, the authors conclude that while the representation of women had been trending in the right direction at the start of 2020, pandemic-related disruptions could erase gains made in the past five years amid signs of women leaving the workforce at higher rates than men. Statewide situation ough there are no Maine-specific statistics on female representation on bank boards and leader- ship roles, Maine Bankers Association President and CEO Chris Pinkham says senior management began changing dramatically in the 1990s with the expan- sion of bank powers and the realization that manage- ment needed bench strength at the top. Banks, financial services providers, and fintech companies rely on Pierce Atwood to provide them with experienced representation and counsel on: To learn how we can assist your organization, please contact firm partner Jack Manheimer at .. or jmanheimer@pierceatwood.com. • Regulatory issues • Commercial lending • M&A and conversions • Workouts and collections • Privacy and data security • Government relations • Class action defense • Derivatives and structured products • Governance and executive compensation • Litigation and dispute resolution • Technology procurement and outsourcing Pierce Atwood. There's a reason… Legal Services You Can Bank On MERRILL'S WHARF • '"" COMMERCIAL STREET • PORTLAND, ME ˜"™˜™ • PIERCEATWOOD.COM C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E » S O U R C E : American Bankers Association, "Women in the Boardroom" report, published Feb. 7, 2020 PERCENT OF WOMEN IN S&P 500 FINANCE INDUSTRY 44.7% 19.8% 27.8% 1.4% First-/mid-level Senior level Board CEO

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