One of the first barriers to reaching gender equity in financial services is recruitment, according to Keisha Bell, Managing Director, Head of Talent Management and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) at the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC).
For potential employees early in their career, recruiting top talent at colleges and in internship programs is key to introducing women to the possibilities of a career in finance, she told Traders Magazine.
According to Bell, there has been clear success towards this goal, with data from McKinsey finding that in 2021 women represented over half of entry level employees in financial services.
But once this talent is recruited, she said, retention becomes another growing issue; and along with this, ensuring women are promoted up the pipeline into key leadership roles.
To combat this challenge, corporations can support women across all levels by introducing programming that meets women where they are in their careers, Bell noted.
She added that this can be achieved by offering mentorship programs, flexible work arrangements, and by supporting nontraditional career paths.
For example, DTCC runs a Re-Emerge program that focuses on women seeking to rejoin the workforce after taking a minimum 2-year hiatus away from work.
“Programs like this help women carve their own career path, while promoting creative, inclusive thinking across organizations,” she said.
Bell said: “We have certainly seen progress as an industry, especially when looking at the level of industry discussion around gender equity in financial services, the high portion of women are in more junior roles of organizations, and the rise of more women in corporate boards – in part through efforts by organizations like The 30% Club“.
But, these signs of progress do not mean there is not more work to do, especially when looking at figures like Deloitte’s finding that only 5% of financial services CEOs are women, Bell added.
Additionally, more discussion and especially transparency around goals for advancing women in financial services is needed, she said.
Deloitte found that only 16% of financial services respondents in their global 2022 Women at Work study say their organization communicates on gender diversity targets, according to Bell.
This means, Bell said that while we see growing recognition for the value of strong women leaders and gender parity in the industry, there is a continued need for firms to better discuss how they are aiming to reach these goals.
According to Bell, the biggest barrier she has faced in her career has been obtaining sponsorship.
“Finding vocal advocacy is a challenge for many women, and even more so for women of color,” she said.
“Throughout my time in the industry, I have learned how critical it is to speak up and find ways to be not just at the table but a powerful voice in the conversation,” she said.
“I have learned the impact of having a supporting network to grow professionally, and most importantly, I learned that sometimes you must take calculated risks in order to achieve your goals,” she added.
Following the theme of Women’s History Month, the DTCC’s WINS (Women’s Initiative for Networking and Success) Employee Resource Group (ERG) has planned a series of local events throughout the month of March featuring panels of senior leaders at DTCC in Chennai and Tampa.
“We also have a special 4-part series spread across our US offices, focused on Latina leaders (in partnership with our UNIDOS ERG),” Bell commented.
“In our continued effort to empower our women leaders to build and embrace their authentic leadership style while navigating female stereotypes in the workplace, we have once again engaged Kim Meninger, founder of Your Career Success, who was both our keynote speaker for International Women’s Day,” Bell added.
This event took place on March 9and included members of the DTCC’s corporate partners at Women United and Gender Networks @ We are the City.
“We’re also proud to have Kim leading a 6-part “Walking the Tightrope Bootcamp Program” for our colleagues,” Bell said.
At the end of this month, WINS will launch their third phase of “Lean In Circles,” which are designed for ERG members to engage others in conversations about development, workplace belonging and embracing equity.
DTCC has several initiatives at work to both support our women in leadership and grow the next generation of women in financial services, according to Bell.
“As highlighted through this month’s programming, we have a rich network of Employee Resource Groups like WINS that I am involved in,” she said.
Bell has also been spearheading DTCC’s Re-Emerge program, which ensures women seeking to rejoin the workforce after taking a minimum 2-year hiatus away from work can easily transition back through 12-16 week programs.
The DTCC’s Advancing Women Leaders program is another initiative the organization highlights all year – not just surrounding International Women’s Day.
This 18-month program is designed to provide a cohort of women development opportunities that will help progress their careers.
Each of the women from across DTCC are chosen by their management team and take part in this rigorous program to advance their careers, Bell explained.
She added that the DTCC recently restarted Men Advocating for Real Change (MARC), a program designed to help create an inclusive workplace and teach men the importance of becoming strong advocates, sponsors and allies, for DTCC officers.
This research-based experiential learning program by Catalyst, a global non-profit that helps foster equity for women in the workplace, disrupts traditional diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) approaches to enhance gender partnership and accelerate the creation of inclusive workplaces, Bell concluded.
