A rarely acknowledged reason why some women don’t make it to the top
One of the biggest issues in the finance industry is the dearth of women occupying senior roles. There are hundreds of organizations across the country trying to solve this issue, deploying millions of dollars worth of resources aimed at getting women to the top. However, there is one rarely discussed problem women face when climbing the ranks of the finance industry, and the solution to this problem does not require spending another dollar.
Imagine a time when you walked into a room and all eyes were on you. Maybe it was your birthday, or you’d just accomplished something significant, such as running a race or getting that well-deserved promotion. Whatever the reason, you were the center of attention, and it probably felt incredible.
Now, imagine that you are the only female in an all-male organization. In the role of an outlier, all eyes are going to be on you — whether it’s in board meetings, drink events, off-sites, or any other gatherings. You will never fade into the sea of nicely tailored dress shirts and polished black bit loafers, an environment in which your male counterparts struggle to stand out from the pack. People in the organization will notice your presence; when you speak in meetings, heads will turn, and all eyes will be intently focused on you. This special type of attention can be addictive and is the root cause of a phenomenon that women will rarely talk about or admit to: they want to feel like they are the only unique individual in the room. How is this accomplished? By keeping other women from advancing to the top…or making it difficult for them to be hired in the first place.
Interlude: let me be clear — I am not saying that being the only female at a male-dominated company is an advantage (as many women know that it is not). But, if being a woman in this environment puts you at a disadvantage the moment you walk in the door, it’s at least nice to feel like you’re the center of attention.
It’s human nature to want to stand out in a crowd, especially when it’s in a high-stakes environment. However, us as women must consciously fight this desire to remain the sole figure in the limelight in order to help other women get to the top. If there is any hope of changing culture within the finance industry, it must start with diversification of the workforce. If we, as women, want to foster a culture of acceptance, openness, and inclusion, then we need to surround ourselves with others who understand our unique life events and struggles vs. the male population.
I have spent countless hours attempting to coach, train, and advise women on how to break into investment banking, private equity, and venture capital. I will be the first to admit, at times it has been challenging. Compared to their male counterparts (especially at a younger age), women tend to be less eager to build a professional network, less prepared for interviews, and less knowledgeable about the inner workings of the finance industry. Thus, it takes more effort for me to coach women aspiring to work in finance than it does for me to hop on the phone and give their male counterparts a few quick words of advice on the finance industry. I’ve seen this ring especially true on the job as well, with women having less conceptual knowledge right off the bat and needing to build more confidence and more rapport to appear equally as capable as the men they work with. This professional knowledge gap, coupled with the desire to remain in the spotlight, can create a very challenging environment for women to advance to the upper echelon of the finance industry.
I spend the extra time helping women because I know what I want the future of this industry to look like: diverse. If we as women are resolute in maintaining the uniqueness of being an outlier in finance, and if we only focus on helping candidates who are already off to a great start, we will end up with the same demographic makeup that we have now. This is my plea to all of you women (and men) reading this: help me build a better future for this industry. Let’s get some diversity at the top.