A Place On the Floor

Who says women aren’t well represented in the world of financial services?

According to Catalyst research, women account for 53 percent of financial managers and make up nearly 20 percent of board members at finance and insurance Fortune 500 companies.

The drop off begins in practice areas, such as trading, requiring highly specialized skills and non-traditional hours.

Only 39 percent of those working in securities, commodities, funds and other financial investments are women.

“These areas, particularly trading and sales, require a high degree of specialization and women have to get trained and educated,” says BNY Mellon Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion, Jyoti Chopra.

“It’s an environment unlike other corporate areas.”

Unorthodox and dynamic, revenue P&L career tracks are different than others within the financial services industry.

There was a time when that may have been what held women back but, today, Chopra sees more women branching out – with male sponsors to back them up.

“A number of male executives at BNY Mellon sponsor, mentor and champion female talent across the company,” says Chopra.

In fact, the executive sponsor for their Women’s Initiative Network (WIN), Curtis Arledge, is CEO of investment management – the company’s largest line of business.

As financial institutions rely more heavily on trading, and digital currencies make headway, the future appears to hold plenty of opportunity.

“Women just have to step up, look for opportunities and define what they want in their careers – no matter what stage of life, you can have what you want,” insists Chopra.

Bonus PINK Link: It’s not easy getting to the C-Suite. See how ad executive Sharon Napier did it.

Has technology made dynamic work environments more attractive to you?

By L. Nicole Williams

Nicole is the Editor at Little PINK Book. Follow her on Twitter @iamnicwill.

“The road to success is always under construction.” Lilly Tomlin