Closing the Gap for Women
The following was an open letter to members from LadyAdvisor’s founder.
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Dear Ladies,
I challenge you to be a part of the change — closing the gap for women on Wall Street!
What would it be like if global capital markets decision making were conducted by a more diverse group of leadership minds: 50% women? Would it be different? I put it to you to ponder.
I am sure you are very aware of the consistently low number of women Wealth Advisors on Wall Street and within Financial Services around world. It is currently estimated that women make up less than 20% of the Advisors in the U.S.
This has remained virtually unchanged for many years, even with the growing numbers of women investors. The Insurance Advisory Board estimates that women will control $1 Trillion (60 percent) of the wealth in the United States by 2010. According to a survey by the Opinion Research Firm and Securian Financial Group, women often prefer to work with female Advisors at a rate of approximately 3-to-1. What an unbelievable opportunity. Be prepared to receive this and also be a part of closing this gap.
Why can we not gain ground on this? Why are there not more and more women Advisors answering the great demand from a growing female investing public? Research shows that a large part of the answer is a lack of example and role models.
I call upon you to support each other and to mentor each other with more passion! Let’s change the face of Wall Street, global financial services and of Wealth Advising. Let’s make a difference and encourage more women to become Wealth Advisors and leaders within the business. Let’s make a difference and instead of closing our doors and putting our heads down, we choose to make history. Take a few minutes here and there to support other women in our business. We must take responsibility for that future.
We need more highly successful women Advisors and leaders. We need to be able to look around any given office and see a great many women who are million dollar producers or more. This needs to be the normal picture. At least 50% of the top producers should be women. At least 50% of the leaders within our industry should be women. At least 50% of the CEOs in our business should be women.
Lady Advisor is built to accomplish this! But…we can’t do it without you. We need you to participate and to be a part of the community; to support other women Advisors and to ask and receive information. We need you to participate on the forums and in discussions.
We have seen that new women Advisors leave at alarming rates! The main reason they leave is lack of a role model. That’s you! All of us — whether you have only been in the business a few years or you have over 300 million under management — can share and be a role model for a minute here and there. Everyone has something to contribute!
As is evidenced by the recent economic and capital markets crisis, the people who are involved and making decisions in Financial Services and the capital markets have a huge responsibility for the welfare of peoples’ financial futures in the U.S. and around the world. In the words of Marie Wilson, founder of the non-partisan organization The White House Project, “Add Women, Change Business!”
Lady Advisor is a powerful resource to build your own business. Use it to get to great heights; but, also take a few minutes to be a role model and empower other women Advisors.
To your prosperity in abundance,
Kirsten
