[9] Labour Force Survey, CSO. [10] At its largest in Q2 2020 when 33% of females were away from work because of COVID, compared to 27% of males. One of the main reasons for this is the concentration of females in sectors that have been historically less cyclically sensitive.
If it chooses the equity route, then the financial institution must make its dividend payments from profits that are left after it pays corporate income taxes. Debt repayments are cheaper. In this way, the tax code includes what is known as a corporate debt tax shield that encourages higher leverage for financial institutions.