How can women be encouraged and supported in the wealth industry?

Women are still finding barriers to ascending the wealth management career ladder, but what can be done to address this and ensure that women want to work in the financial services industry - and can succeed?

It’s International Women’s Day and Wealth Professional asked Christine Van Cauwenberghe, head of financial planning at IG Wealth Management since 2022, to share what she has learned in her career so far about what will really make a difference in driving gender equality in the industry.

Her own financial services career was not something she considered at high school, although her strong math skills were encouraged, and she worked at a bank teller while still at high school and mentors suggested she go to business school. It was there that financial services appeared to be a natural fit.

With an equal mix of male and female students, gender bias was not really an issue at that stage, or when she joined IG Wealth Management.

“I work at head office for IG Wealth Management, so there have always been lots of roles for women, although when I first started there were previous few at the most senior level,” she said. “In my experience, the issue for many females isn’t actually getting a junior position – it’s moving up through the senior ranks that’s the challenge.”

Motherhood is often a challenge for women in the industry, but Van Cauwenberghe has a supportive husband who shares the responsibility and was able to take a year out on maternity leave.

Climbing the ladder

Having good mentors has also been instrumental in her career progression by supporting her and giving her opportunities to succeed. She cites this as an important key for women breaking past the middle management level.

Moving up the ranks can be hard enough, but reaching board level can seem near impossible. To address this, Van Cauwenberghe says it’s important that women see better representation.

“There are many very capable women out there, but if they never see women succeeding at the highest level, it can be discouraging,” she said. “Sometimes people get chosen to be on boards because they happen to mingle in the same business or social circles. So long as organizations continue to intentionally seek out people who are different from them, we will start to slowly see more diversity on boards. But sometimes it can take extra effort and intention to make that happen.”

Ensuring the talent pipeline is filling up with women keen to work in the industry is vital, especially given the highly competitive hiring environment. IG Wealth Management has been taking significant steps to pique the interest of potential talent, especially around financial planning roles.

“When many people thing of financial planning, they think of investment planning. Although investment planning is obviously a very important part of financial planning, it is only one piece of the puzzle,” said Van Cauwenberghe.  “It’s important for women to know that if you want to help people, financial planning is a great career. You won’t be spending your day picking and choosing investments. You will be spending your days talking to your clients about their hopes, dreams and aspirations and helping them to make them a reality.”

She added that young people looking for a career tend to be seeking meaning and purpose: “Financial planning provides both of those in spades.”

Overall, drawing more women into the industry requires both education and representation, which in turn will lead to more women as role models and the erosion of barriers to career progression 

Women’s growing wealth

Greater representation of women is more than just about fairness and diversity of the workforce, there’s also an increasingly important business case with a growing share of women generating and controlling wealth.

“If women really want to be equals in this world, then they will need more financial independence. The best way to become financially independent is to have a strong understanding of what is required to build and retain wealth,” said Van Cauwenberghe. “If women don’t feel comfortable asking for advice, they will make ill-informed decisions. It’s important for the profession to reflect the population it serves, so that everyone will feel comfortable accessing that information and getting good advice.”

Know the industry

In conclusion, Van Cauwenberghe says that women who may be interested in the industry – or want to progress within in - should ensure they have the right information about what is involved, and the opportunities is provides.

“If you are thinking about entering the profession, take a look at the FP Canada website to learn more about financial planning in general, and also see if you can go for coffee or lunch with an advisor who has their CFP (and holds themselves out as a financial advisor),” she said. “If you are already in the profession, consider improving your education – if you don’t already have your CFP, consider obtaining it. It is the gold standard in the financial planning industry and will help you serve your clients better and advance your career.”