HSBC Bank Malta doubled the number of female managers in just a couple of years, thanks to a regulation introduced in 2016.

The bank instructed selection board members at least one candidate for every position at senior management level had to be a woman.

The rule was applicable to senior management roles because there was more gender balance at junior level, a bank spokesman said.

The decision was backed by research that found such practice removed “self-replication bias”, CEO Andrew Beane said.

People were subconsciously inclined to select candidates who fit the stereotype of what they saw around them, he noted.

“Subconsciously, people have a tendency to give preference to people they always pictured being in certain roles,” he said.

The bank also made sure the members of panels choosing candidates were themselves diverse gender-wise, Mr Beane said.

The move is considered to be unprecedented for a business in Malta.

Mr Beane insisted the initiative did not mean the selected female members were there merely because of the practice rather because of merit.

“It was important for us to ensure both the selected women and their colleagues knew they were there because they excelled in the role,” he noted.

The bank’s executive committee is now made up of seven female members and seven males. However, the new regulation seems to have impacted HSBC positions at all levels, with female participation going up from 25% in 2016 to 41% this year.

HSBC also adopted other initiatives, such as flexible hours, that encouraged both men and women to participate in the workforce, Mr Beane said.

Other companies did not seem to have taken the cue by introducing initiatives to include women on boards, Joyce Grech, the bank’s chief risk officer, remarked.

Turnout at events promoting women on boards was still very low and other companies seem to be lagging in showing interest, she said.