19 of the most powerful women in global finance

RBS

Alison Rose, who was appointed as the first female CEO of RBS.

• Alison Rose will succeed Ross McEwan as CEO of RBS on November 1.
• The recent announcement of Rose's appointment brings another woman to the forefront as a leader in global finance.
• Stanford researchers published a study last week suggesting that a firm revealing a high level of gender diversity causes stock prices to go up.
• To highlight banks that are leading in gender diversity, Business Insider compiled the following list of some of the top female leaders in global finance, and what they have to say about the issue.
• Click here for more BI Prime stories.

One of the "big four" banks in Britain has appointed its first ever female leader: Alison Rose is set to become CEO of RBS on November 1.

The announcement comes on the heels of a new report highlighting that shareholders penalize finance firms that don't hire enough women. In fact, the research found that not only does gender diversity in higher levels of leadership create a precedent for future female leaders, it also has measurable effects on companies.

"This goes beyond saying diversity is a good idea because it's ethical," Dr. Margaret Ann Neale, distinguished professor of management and researcher at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, told Stanford GSB. "Shareholders are saying, 'If you're not as diverse as we want you to be, there are going to be economic consequences.'"

Women in senior leadership positions are rare, particularly in the financial sector. Banks have been vocal about working to add more women to senior ranks, but this was undermined by a moment in April of this year, when Rep. Al Green (D‑Texas) asked the CEOs of Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, State Street Corp., and Bank of New York Mellon if they believed their successor would be a woman or a person of color. Not one CEO raised his hand.

This anecdotal piece fits into the an unfortunate bigger picture: There are only 25 female CEOs in the Fortune 500.

Despite the progress that needs to be made, there are silver linings. The Stanford GSB researchers noticed that companies in the financial sector with greater gender diversity saw a rise in stock prices. When the researchers looked at why investors appear affected by gender diversity, they found that investors thought that gender-diverse firms were more ethical, less likely to draw in negative political attention, and more likely to think outside of the box.

Many women in the financial sector are paving the way forward within their companies. Here's Business Insider's list highlighting 19 of the most powerful women in global finance.