Women in finance perpetuating own glass ceiling?

A third of all females in the finance profession prefer male bosses because they are ‘less emotional', ‘less moody' and ‘less political'.

Such is the finding by specialist finance recruiter Marks Sattin, whose survey of over 600 finance professionals found that when women were asked whether they would prefer to work with a male, female or either boss, 33 per cent preferred a male boss.

"It is clear that the workplace has not advanced as far as some would have hoped," the recruiter said.

"The question must be asked: are women perpetuating their own glass ceiling?"

The survey also found that only 14 per cent of women were at the chief financial officer or senior managerial level, compared to 26 per cent of men.

Women are half as likely to reach senior positions despite making up almost half (45.9 per cent) of all employees in Australia.

Some support quotas and this is reflected in the latest International Business Report, which said 45 per cent of business leaders back the quota idea, compared to 37 per cent in 2013.

Marks Sattin Sydney director Ieuan Williams said this may be the way forward as gender balance on executive boards can reflect positively on a company's bottom line.

But opinion is divided, with some women feeling it is tokenistic.

"This mixed feeling is reflective of the problem at its core: many women simply do not feel comfortable pushing the glass ceiling," Marks Sattin said.