Working with wealthy women: tips from one of the industry’s female trailblazers

With women playing an increasingly pivotal role in the wealth and investment management industry, what can we learn from women in wealth about advising women with wealth?

International Women’s Day this weekend provides an ideal catalyst for the conversation around the trends already changing the industry and how firms can adapt to leverage the undeniable power of women.

Wealth Professional has asked one of the industry’s trailblazers - Lesley Marks, Chief Investment Officer, Equities at Mackenzie Investments - to share her insights.

Attraction, retention

Firstly, where does Lesley think we are as an industry in attracting women into the industry and helping them progress up the career ladder?

“Across our industry we are certainly making progress but there are still pockets where we would like to see greater representation of women in our industry – namely in Portfolio Management or investment decision-making roles. For example, at Mackenzie we have about 30% representation of women in investment management roles and this is above the industry average.”

Is part of the challenge, one of improving understanding among those considering careers, even at High School level, about the breadth of financial services roles they could think about?

“Asset Management is not as widely understood as a career path as much as other financial services roles like banking for example. So yes, at the high school level we want to encourage as many women as we can to emphasize STEM in high school so they are on the path for STEM in university.”

Technology transformation

Traditional roles in the industry – as with many others – are transforming due to technology, especially AI. Are women facing an oversized impact of this and how can we mitigate that?

“Today women are making up more than half of the population in business programs, we need to extend that into other STEM programs like engineering and computer science because more roles in the financial industry will require these skills in the future. In order to not lose ground on the progress that we have made for women in financial services, encouraging more women to pursue these programs will help to keep their skills relevant and competitive.”

Workplace culture

Workplaces have evolved, but how can firms ensure that their culture and policies are positive for women?

“Negative cultures for women are more the exception and maybe exist in companies that aren’t as mature or don’t have the human resources infrastructure that a larger company has that can help to guide policy and culture in a more inclusive way.

For companies to ensure that their culture and policies are positive for women, this has to be a priority from the leadership of the organization, as employees will respond to the leadership by example. If employees see inconsistencies between what a company says versus what it does, they will recognize quickly the disingenuous culture, and the employee experience will not feel inclusive.”

Mentorship and advocacy

Mentorship and advocacy are important in helping women progress to senior roles; what should firms be doing to ensure this is part of the fabric of their business?

“Both mentorship and advocacy support the advancement of women in organizations in very different ways. Mentorship is helpful for anyone, (not just women) looking to advance in their organization because to advance, there are necessary conditions like skills development, profiling your achievements and networking. Most people that achieve career progression will acknowledge the support of a mentor along the way. I recommend that people create a personal board of directors to help them with various facets that can support their advancement.

In the case of advocacy, or sponsorship, this is also important – sometimes even with great mentorship support, to make advancements, you really need someone to ensure you are on the radar of key decision-makers. Mentors cannot always serve this role.

I would also assert that there is a third pillar for inclusivity which is allyship. Women also benefit from having allies within the organization that can help to support and amplify their voices.”

Women with wealth

With more women controlling wealth, how critical is it that firms demonstrate that they treat their female employees well, to be credible for female (potential) clients?

“This is an important nuance that you raise – we are not advocating diversity for diversity’s sake, but instead the strategic importance of having diverse perspectives brought to the decisions that we make as a business as well as to support the diverse perspectives of our stakeholders including potential clients.

Women are expected to control an increasingly larger share of Canadian financial wealth – I’ve seen estimates approaching 50% by the end of this decade so it’s important that we understand the preferences of women when it comes to the provision of financial services. And certainly female representation and career development support are areas that I believe our female clients will likely expect.”