Why is it taking so long?
Image: Concha Rodrigo; woman waiting
“Women are coming into Wall Street in large numbers — and they still are not making partner and are not getting into the positions that lead to the executive suites. There’s still an old boys club.” — Muriel Siebert
Muriel Siebert said these words nearly 30 YEARS AGO, but – ugh – they could have been written last week. The stats? Well, we're still only about a quarter of C-Suite roles held by women (and a mere 4% by women of color). Financial planning and advising? Less than a quarter are female. Even women clients are demoted by our industry with women often described as “niche.” So, what's the hold-up on progress?
Here's the scoop: One possible explanation is that deep-rooted beliefs are holding their ground. Researchers like Tessa Charlesworth, along with Nishanth Sanjeev, Mark L. Hatzenbuehler, and Mahzarin R. Banaji at Kellogg, decided to take a deep dive into stereotypes over the past 115 years. They delved into the language used to describe various groups based on race, economic status, and other characteristics (like "fat" or "skinny"). What they found was interesting – while the surface-level language might shift over time, the core, sometimes unspoken, ideas attached to these groups tend to change at a snail's pace. This suggests that, despite the talk of progress, those deeply ingrained, subconscious beliefs are sticking around. (Example for us women: women used to be called “hysterical,” which changed to “emotional” and now is sometimes “moody.” Different words, same underlying sentiment.)
Women in financial services may especially feel they are hitting their heads against a wall. Here's why:
Long Legacy: The financial industry is practically a history book. The first stock in Europe traded in 1611. The Philadelphia Stock Exchange, the OG in the U.S., kicked off in 1790. (If you want a history lesson, check out SoFi’s A Brief History of the Stock Market | SoFi).
Regulatory Hurdles: Quick changes? Not so fast. Regulatory oversight, while not explicitly putting the brakes on women in leadership, creates an environment where caution and change-avoidance are the norms. The fear? Unsettling the economic boat.
Gender Gap Sticking Around: According to McKinsey and LeanIn.org, the gender gap in senior leadership roles (Senior VPs and C-Suite folks) is very much a thing. Asset management firms are feeling it even more. Plus, there's this leaky bucket situation – plenty of talented women, but not enough sticking around to make it to the top echelons.
But, we also know that the world is changing. Women are on an upward trajectory marked by greater economic power, greater education and greater earnings. How can we take action, small and large, to improve things?
At Muriel Network, our mission is to amplify female connection to close the gender wealth gap and senior leadership gap within wealth management. If you’re looking for transformative encouragement, inspiration, data and insights, and next-level development, we hope you’ll join us. If you and I both go, it will be incredible.