Barriers to the boardroom: assessing the effect of succession planning on women’s leadership trajectories in the financial sector

Purpose This study explores succession planning practices in the financial sector of a developing country and how they influence global majority women’s progression into leadership positions. It seeks to understand intersectional barriers limiting global majority women’s ability to be included for leadership development and why even their representation at senior decision-making levels remains limited despite policy commitments to gender inclusion. Design/methodology/approach It achieves this purpose through a qualitative research approach using individual interviews with 26 purposively sampled global majority women leaders who have lived experiences in leadership positions within the financial sector in Ghana. Thematic analysis was carried out on the transcribed audio recordings to identify relevant themes. Findings The findings show that financial institutions in Ghana have gender diversity policies and initiatives, women inclusion in succession planning through talent pools, mentoring, coaching and provision of support structures and leadership development programmes. However, the succession processes tend to be informal, prone to bias and dependent on personal networks and sponsorship, which tend to favour men. Despite the relatively few women occupying managerial positions, their progression into leadership continues to be hindered by institutional barriers, cultural limitations and personal barriers. Originality/value The study adds to the knowledge on the impact of external factors like the Affirmative Action (Gender Equity) Act 2024 of Ghana and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 on the gender-inclusive practice in the financial industry in Ghana, but still, the structural and cultural biases are still there to interfere with real advancement. Therefore, clear and responsible succession systems and more intensive organisational and cultural transformation are necessary to make gender equity in leadership sustainable.