The chief operating office of global wealth advisory firm says other female leaders in the industry must 'leave the ladder down' for others
Despite many ongoing efforts to address the issue, women are still under-represented in the financial services industry.
The reasons for the inequality are multiple but one area that remains a significant challenge for the industry is the relatively-few women in the most senior roles.
One of them, Beverley Yeomans, chief operating officer of global wealth advisory deVere Group, says that the world of finance continues to be male dominated due to structural inequalities, social norms, and economic disparities.
She says this needs to change for several reasons, not least research that shows that firms with women in C-suite roles are typically more stable, more future-proofed, have better risk management, and higher capital buffers.
“In addition, top-level female representation helps companies build long-term client relationships, become more socially conscious, and are more diverse, which leads to happier and more productive employees.”
Wealth Professional will be celebrating women in our industry with the Women In Wealth Summit 2022 this December. It will encourage conversations around gender equity and hopes to elevate and inspire female leaders within the industry.
More relevant
Yeomans highlights that women now control 32% of global wealth following unprecedented growth in the last decade.
With this set to grow further to US$97 trillion by 2024, she says that having better female representation makes a firm more relevant.
The executive knows from experience as women now make up half of deVere Group employees globally.
But to achieve more women in senior financial services roles, she says that there need to be more role models and mentors, noting that the sector lags others in this regard.
“Without more women trailblazing, those coming into the world of finance will inevitably find the path more of an uphill challenge or, perhaps, may not even know there is a path.”
Yeomans says this is why female leaders in the industry must “leave the ladder down” for others.
Women sometimes succumb to social biases and believe that they are not suitable or ‘enough’ to apply for roles and therefore may need an advocate to empower them to receive their potential.
