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Investment News Article Indicates Stalling in Women Obtaining Leadership Positions in Financial Services Industry
By Jonah A Toleno, Esq. of Shustak Reynolds & Partners, P.C. posted on Monday, October 19, 2015.
Jonah A. Toleno
Of Counsel
Location: San Diego, California
Phone: (619) 696-9500 (Ext. 104)
Direct: (619) 501-6483
Email: [email protected]
Investment News released an online article last week indicating that women’s advancements into senior positions at financial advisory firms have stalled. While women comprise approximately half of the total number of employees at a typical advisory firm, according to the article, firm ownership and client interfacing roles remain primarily male-dominated.
Investment News’ benchmark dataresearch indicates that of the individuals in partner-level or ownership title positions, only 19% are women. While the research shows that men and women generally are equally likely to be promoted within support (assistant) positions, the discrepancy between likelihood of men being promoted versus women in financial advisory service positions is much more stark – 21.4% likelihood for men versus 12.9% versus women.
Much attention has been paid over recent years to women’s roles in the financial services industry. For whatever reason the current data shows women’s progression toward leadership positions is stagnant. The Investment News article surmises one potential cause could be that women are not successfully breaking into roles of sales culture and sales mentality. Whether or not this is true, data indicates more and more women are breaking into the financial advisory services industry. What remains to be seen is whether these women advance into leadership roles in proportionate numbers.
Are you a woman in a position of leadership in the financial services industry? As a professional woman who also practices in a traditionally male-dominated field, I’m curious to hear about your experiences and your thoughts on these Investment News findings.We have extensive familiarity with securities and financial services issues, including employment, discrimination, and broker/advisor transfer matters. Feel free to email me at [email protected] and visit our website at www.shufirm.com to see more about our firm. We’d love to hear from you.
