Data Index Measures Commitments to Gender Equality, Including Workplace Policies, Financial Products and More

The 2016 Bloomberg Financial Services Gender-Equality Index (BFGEI), released today, reinforced Bank of America’s position as a global leader in gender equality and supporting women in the workplace. Among other things, the index highlighted the company’s representation of women at all levels, its leading talent development and benefit programs, gender-conscious product offerings for its clients, and active support and engagement on these issues in local communities the company serves.

“As part of our work to ensure steady, responsible economic growth, we are committed to investing in women, women-owned businesses and products that benefit women in communities across the globe,” said Anne Finucane, vice chairman at Bank of America. “Bloomberg’s data validate our efforts, and this new index reinforces the idea that Bank of America can only succeed when women succeed.”

“We know our company is most successful when our diverse workforce feels supported and valued, and the Gender-Equality Index showcases the fact that we have a workplace where opportunities exist for all employees,” said Sheri Bronstein, global human resources executive at Bank of America. “From attracting talent to professional development to holistic benefits and wellness programs, we are focused on helping our people grow and thrive.”

Bank of America’s score on the BFGEI reflects its robust commitments to supporting women-owned businesses and entrepreneurs, as well as our women employees through progressive workplace policies:

  • Fifty-two percent of Bank of America’s global workforce is women, including 38 percent of the executive team, more than double the average among other Fortune 500 companies (just 14 percent).
  • We have programs and partnerships in place to develop talented women at all levels of our organization, including targeted campus recruiting initiatives that have resulted in the representation of women across our intern and full-time classes to nearly 40 percent, and our Global Women’s Conference, which convenes top female leaders from around the globe to learn about leadership, mobility, advancement, family and community.
  • The company supports the personal and professional growth of our employees through progressive workplace policies, including the recently announced extension to paid parental leave – giving employees 16 weeks of maternity, paternity and adoption leave – and other programs to support parents and caregivers.
  • To encourage our investors and clients to consider impact investment strategies, we’ve created the Women and Girls Equality Strategy (WGES) as part of U.S. Trust’s Social Impact Investing platform. This investment product evaluates a corporation’s policies on pay equity across genders, females/minorities represented in management, and identifies companies that are positioned to take advantage of the women’s economic theme.
  • In partnership with the Tory Burch Foundation Capital Program, Bank of America provided capital for more than $10 million in affordable loans to nearly 450 women business owners since 2014, and announced an expansion of $20 million over the next two years. These loans are administered through community development financial institutions in each of the program’s markets.
  • To create economic opportunity for women entrepreneurs around the world, Bank of America partners with Vital Voices and the Cherie Blair Foundation to connect nearly 2,000 women entrepreneurs from more than 80 countries with mentors – 200 of whom are mentored by Bank of America employees.

To be considered, Bank of America completed a survey created by Bloomberg in partnership with third-party experts, including Women's World Banking, Catalyst and Working Mother Media. Those included on this year's index scored at 60 points or more, a global threshold established by Bloomberg to reflect data transparency and the achievement or adoption of best-in-class statistics and policies.

"Evidence demonstrates that gender-equality policies and practices can affect a company’s financial performance, productivity and ability to retain top talent,” said Angela Sun, head of Strategy and Corporate Development at Bloomberg. “While more and more firms are focused on addressing gender equality in the workplace, we've lacked a holistic set of data to better understand the issues facing companies, employees and clients. The BFGEI gives investors an important new decision-making tool by providing objective, concrete data around difficult-to-measure areas like policies and products."

BloombergBloomberg, the global business and financial information and news leader, gives influential decision makers a critical edge by connecting them to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas. The company’s strength – delivering data, news and analytics through innovative technology, quickly and accurately – is at the core of the Bloomberg Professional service, which provides real time financial information to more than 327,000 subscribers globally. For more information, visit www.bloomberg.com or request a demo.

Bank of AmericaBank of America is one of the world's leading financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 47 million consumer and small business relationships with approximately 4,700 retail financial centers, approximately 16,000 ATMs, and award-winning online banking with approximately 33 million active users and approximately 20 million mobile users. Bank of America is a global leader in wealth management, corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 3 million small business owners through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and more than 35 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

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www.bankofamerica.com

Reporters May Contact:Andy Aldridge, Bank of America, 1.980.387.0514andrew.aldridge@bankofamerica.comJill Watanabe, Bloomberg, 1.212.617.1610jwatanabe11@bloomberg.net

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