we started to collect the data in 2012, the results were poor, where only one in six applications were for female candidates. in our latest report for 2019, which will be published in the coming days the number is 26 % or over one in four applicants, and a two percentage point increase since 2018. 14 underneath the small increase, there are substantial differences in role holders across sectors. for example, over one in four senior role holders in the insurance sector are women, while it is only one in eight in asset management. beyond sectoral information, we can also see the gender balance, or imbalance in the type of roles that women apply for. the data continues to show a pronounced gender imbalance at board level and in revenue generating roles as opposed to second line of defence roles. for example, female applicants for head of investment roles stands at 13 % whereas female applicants for compliance and risk roles stands at 41 %. and while we are seeing some progress, there is still a long way to go. we are placing a spotlight on this issue and intend to keep it there. in 2018, as part of a major piece of supervisory work on the mortgage market, the central bank also published a report on the ‘ behaviour and culture of the irish retails banks, ’ in which we also conducted diversity and inclusion assessments. 15 and next month we will publish the findings of a diversity and inclusion thematic assessment of the insurance industry along with best practice guidance for the wider industry. it is worth recalling why we, central banks and regulators are doing this. we want to ensure boards have a wide diversity of views. we also consider that lack of diversity is a leading indicator of elevated behaviour and culture risks. 16 of course diversity goes beyond gender, but it is also within gender, diversity of experiences, diversity of thought, diversity of perspectives. we want the firms we supervise to make good decisions, take considered risks and not succumb to groupthink. the firms we supervise now expect challenge from central bank supervisors when there is a lack of diversity at board and management levels. beyond our role as a regulator, within the central bank our strategic focus on diversity and inclusion is reflected in our vision and desired culture. 17 it is explicitly called out in the central bank of ireland ’ s strategic plan 2019 - 2021. thinking back to when i joined the central bank in 1996, the bank had no women on the senior management team and not a single female head of division. today, our senior leadership committee is

important that this process of rationalisation does not compromise the risk management infrastructure and it / operational framework in the banking system. these would be short - term cost savings that sowed the seeds for later problems and painful expense, as we ’ ve seen in the past and indeed quite recently. so, the central bank will encourage bank management to stick to their cost - cutting agenda, but to do so with careful deliberation. they do need to maintain the capacity to deliver the needed services to the economy and the general public. culture while most of the challenges are financial in nature, there is one that is not but is nevertheless absolutely essential : we need to see a substantial, deeply rooted and sustained change in the culture that operates within the irish banking system. cultural change is evidently a complicated, laborious and time - consuming process and will need to touch on the number of dimensions, but at its essence we need to see a fundamental shift in attitudes to risk management and to the treatment of consumers. the financial crisis exposed a corrosive influence at the heart of the way the irish banks were run and that has had to be decisively tackled. the central bank has acted to initiate change in this area and has encouraged improved governance and standards of behaviour. we have introduced a corporate governance code, which is fully enforceable, designed to improve the rigour of oversight of bank management bis central bankers ’ speeches and to broaden the gene pool of bank boardrooms. a new fitness and probity regime is now in place to more rigorously police those who work in the financial services sector. some 71 of the 73 executive and non - executive directors who were in place at the time of the guarantee have now or will shortly depart the system. but the work of cultural change is by no means complete – indeed it still has a long way to go – and must necessarily be driven by the new boards of the irish banks. they need to set the tone at the top and clearly articulate their expectations of ethical conduct amongst their management team and their staff at large. they need to ensure that the ranks of senior and middle management are subject to renewal and refreshment, to bring some fresh blood into the mix without the baggage of the past and with the motivation to lead the process of change. new standards of behaviour need to be backed up when hard cases of individual conduct come to a head, and not avoided. recognition of the importance of good risk management, compliance and treating customers fairly needs to become embedded