Ethnicity Key

274 White / Caucasion

21 Multiple Ethnicity / Other

13 Hispanic

12 Black / African American

9 Asian / Pacific Islander

1 American Indian / Alaskan Native

Ethnicity Key

274 White / Caucasion

21 Multiple Ethnicity / Other

13 Hispanic

12 Black / African American

9 Asian / Pacific Islander

1 American Indian / Alaskan Native

Section 2

Perceived Barriers

Once a woman starts a career in the field of wealth management, she faces many of the same challenges as her male counterparts – growing a book of business from nothing, operational efficiency, and dealing with the emotional highs and lows of client responses to the market are par for the course.

Survey respondents indicated, however, that women in wealth management have additional barriers that men are less likely to deal with. In fact, 87.76% of survey respondents agreed with the statement: “Female advisors have different barriers to success than male advisors,” with only 4.78% disagreeing. While male respondents were somewhat less likely to agree with this statement (81.4% vs. 90.3%), a significant majority acknowledge the presence of unique barriers the same way their female counterparts do.

Once a woman starts a career in the field of wealth management, she faces many of the same challenges as her male counterparts – growing a book of business from nothing, operational efficiency, and dealing with the emotional highs and lows of client responses to the market are par for the course.

Survey respondents indicated, however, that women in wealth management have additional barriers that men are less likely to deal with. In fact, 87.76% of survey respondents agreed with the statement: “Female advisors have different barriers to success than male advisors,” with only 4.78% disagreeing. While male respondents were somewhat less likely to agree with this statement (81.4% vs. 90.3%), a significant majority acknowledge the presence of unique barriers the same way their female counterparts do.

56.89%

Difficulty finding a mentor

33.53%

Challenges in prospecting for new clients

69.76%

Difficulties in finding a firm that’s a “culture fit”

72.75%

Balancing professional role with caregiving obligations

24.55%

Other (write in)

Primary Barriers

The survey asked respondents what barriers female advisors face, giving them four choices and the options to add their own. As one respondent noted, these barriers can apply to men and women, though both men and women who responded acknowledge that these are more likely to be barriers faced by women. The choices provided to respondents are shown at left.

Primary Barriers

The survey asked respondents what barriers female advisors face, giving them four choices and the options to add their own. As one respondent noted, these barriers can apply to men and women, though both men and women who responded acknowledge that these are more likely to be barriers faced by women. The choices provided to respondents were:

56.89%

Difficulty finding a mentor

33.53%

Challenges in prospecting for new clients

69.76%

Difficulties in finding a firm that’s a “culture fit”

72.75%

Balancing professional role with caregiving obligations

24.55%

Other (write in)

“Gender and age discrimination run rampant in our industry.” – Survey Respondent

Of the write-in barriers received, 47% indicated that gender-based discrimination was a primary barrier. This write-in option received three times as many mentions as the next most frequently named barrier, male-focused social networks – or what multiple respondents referred to as the “Old Boys Club.” Survey designers opted not to include discrimination/sexism as a proposed choice in the desire to not lead participants. The significant write-in number, however, indicates that respondents view sexism in the workplace a significant issue in wealth management.

The “Second Shift” Outside the Office

The most identified barrier respondents listed was “Balancing professional role with caregiving obligations,” with 72.75% of respondents selecting this barrier. While societal norms have evolved over the past decade, respondents still perceive caregiving, typically for children but sometimes for aging parents, as a barrier to career success.

Beyond this survey, other contemporary research confirms these perceptions. Gallup’s most recent polling on the topic shows that while distribution of caregiving and household management tasks has equalized some in dual-earner households since 1996, women still carry the lion’s share of these tasks. The difference in childcare duties is particularly marked – with women taking the lead in 50% of households, compared to the 7% of households where men take the lead; 42% of households report an equal split in childcare.

Survey respondents indicated that within the general population, the tasks that male partners routinely take the lead on at home are car maintenance, yard work and investment decisions (though it is logical to assume that in a survey cohort of female financial advisors, she would take on more of this last task). These tasks generally require less frequent attention than those that women are still largely responsible for:

Typical Tasks

Women are Largely
Responsible For

Unsurprisingly, this “second shift” for women has the potential to limit income opportunities and outside-of-work-hours achievement opportunities. One respondent summed it up by saying these obligations were a barrier because, “I don’t have a wife to come work for me.”

Of the write-in barriers received, 47% indicated that gender-based discrimination was primary barrier.

47% indicated that gender-based discrimination was primary barrier.

Who is more likely to do each of the following in your household?

Roles of Men and Women in U.S. Households

The at-home workload is likely why female advisors rate flexibility as the number one benefit their firms can provide. Most respondents (63.88%) believe that a career as a financial advisor is generally conducive to a “work-life” balance, though men are somewhat more likely to hold this belief (72.1% vs 61.6%).4

Culture Matters

The second-most common barrier for respondents was “Difficulty in finding a firm that’s a ‘culture fit’” – 69.76% of respondents considered this a primary barrier. It underscores the importance of firm culture as a critical factor in the success and fulfillment of all advisors, male and female.

The second most common respondent-generated barrier for female advisors was unequal access to social networks, both within the firm and in the community. Several respondents referred to this as the “Old Boys Club,” which is generally defined as the loose social ties and interest-based connections shared by men, but not typically shared by women in the same profession. A 2021 study from Harvard University found that within corporate structure, these informal networks still exert a meaningful influence on the career advancement of women.⁵

There’s good news here: Though the most common barriers are easily identifiable, female advisors trust firm leadership enough to share their concerns about these barriers: 66.27% of respondents said they feel comfortable sharing obstacles to success with firm leadership.

Section 3

Choosing a Financial Advice Career

Increasing the number of women in wealth management is advantageous for multiple reasons – but the economic advantages alone are compelling. According to consulting company McKinsey & Company, by 2030, American women will control $30 trillion. And 70% of women seeking a financial advisor would prefer to work with a female, according to a study conducted by the Insured Retirement Institute in 2013. That’s a lot of money for firms to leave on the table by not addressing underrepresentation in the next eight years.

To add women to the industry, recruitment often becomes the focus of change efforts. The survey asked respondents how well they believe the industry is at attracting female students into financial advice as a profession.

Only 16.42% of respondents agreed with this statement: “Industry organizations and firms effectively promote a career as a financial advisor as attractive to female students.” 52.84% of respondents flatly disagreed with the statement, indicating an industry-wide self-awareness that the profession does a poor job promoting itself to new entrants – particularly young women.

Women, however, were significantly more pessimistic than men, with 57% strongly disagreeing or disagreeing with the statement above, as opposed to 39% of male respondents.

The factors that students use to determine the right career for them are multi-faceted. They often involve the input of family and friends, professors and guidance counselors. As students gain exposure to the industry through their undergraduate curriculum and as career counseling offices become more familiar with the role of financial advisor, the role of “marketing the profession” could fall more on higher education institutions.

An indication of how ineffective the industry and educational institutions are at marketing wealth management as a career choice came from the interviews. Virtually every woman interviewed came to the profession via an indirect route once their careers had already started. Many were brought in by their fathers or other relative, or were in adjacent professions such as banking.

As career decisions are based less on the traditional “word of mouth” awareness that dominated the industry in the past, it may be necessary to shift thinking from attendance at career fairs to more about how the industry can build strong relationships with the financial planning program heads and professors who are training the next generation of financial planners.

Making students aware of the benefits of the profession before college is particularly relevant. After all, if a student is unaware the financial planning/wealth management profession exists, she’s unlikely to construct her major around the requisite skills for success for the role. Even the notion that outstanding financial planners and wealth managers must obtain a degree in a finance-based field presents a problem, as many students who want a career in a helping profession often gravitate toward psychology, social work or education.

The factors that students use to determine the right career for them are multi-faceted. They often involve the input of family and friends, professors and guidance counselors.

Many of the women interviewed were attracted to the profession after seeing what a profound impact it could have on lives.

I was purely an administrative assistant. Once, I was invited by my boss into a client meeting with a man who had laid tile his whole life. But he and his wife saved, and he lived well below his means and he was going to be okay financially. This man did not see himself that way. He really saw himself as much less successful. As my boss is presenting this plan saying, “Not only are you going to be fine, you can do whatever you want to, within reason. You can live the retirement you want to live, you can give to the kids. You can leave a legacy.” And this man starts crying. Which there’s no chance my boss could have predicted that. He couldn’t have orchestrated that if he had wanted to. It just happened to work out that I was in that meeting. I was sold on the career for life.

Most women in financial advice shared in interviews that they love to help their friends and other people, how they love personal finance, and find this industry to be a great fit. They see this industry as a “positive industry where you get to make a positive impact on other people’s lives.” These talking points about transforming lives and helping people are not clearly articulated to potential entrants to the profession.

Section 3

Choosing a Financial Advice Career

Increasing the number of women in wealth management is advantageous for multiple reasons – but the economic advantages alone are compelling. According to consulting company McKinsey & Company, by 2030, American women will control $30 trillion. And 70% of women seeking a financial advisor would prefer to work with a female, according to a study conducted by the Insured Retirement Institute in 2013. That’s a lot of money for firms to leave on the table by not addressing underrepresentation in the next eight years.