FLASH FRIDAY is a weekly content series looking at the past, present and future of capital markets trading and technology. FLASH FRIDAY is sponsored by Instinet, a Nomura company.
Happy International Women’s Day!
In the spirit of the day, we at Traders Magazine thought it would be an opportune time to assess the current status of women in finance and financial technology.
The over-simplified backstory: women made great strides in all industries, including finance, from the 1990s into the 2010s. Progress has continued, but at a slower and more uneven rate, and deficiencies persist – notably, the ongoing scarcity of women in senior management.
Deloitte took a big-picture view of women in the financial services industry in a 2023 report. The consultancy noted that women accounted for about 18% of finserv C-suite positions globally last year, up from 12% a decade earlier, but growth has leveled off and the 2031 number was projected to be just 22%. Even less promising were the rungs below: “women’s representation in senior-leadership and next-generation roles has grown at a much slower pace than C-suite roles…If the status quo continues, the share of women in senior-leadership roles could stagnate while that of next- generation roles is likely to fall by almost 2 percentage points by 2031.”
Just this week the Financial Times ran an op-ed with an ominous headline: Are things going backwards for Women on Wall Street? The piece, penned by veteran financial editor Brooke Masters, noted that while some things have changed for the better, “the top echelons of American finance are still overwhelmingly male.” There have been setbacks for some very senior women and Goldman Sachs, Citi, and Morgan Stanley, and the slow pace of change in bank boardrooms makes the industry vulnerable to losing top women to other industries. Masters concluded: “Who wants to wait in line for an uncertain shot at leadership, when she can go somewhere else and take change right now?”
Traders Magazine solicited direct feedback about the state of play for women in securities trading and technology, from women in the business. Are things moving forward? Backwards? Sideways?
In line with the high-level data, feedback was generally optimistic, but with some measure of concern.
“Women and under-represented minorities in finance are usually outperformers and ‘rock stars’. They need to be, just to simply be present and be taken seriously,” said Lorna Boucher, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer at Imperative Execution, the parent company of IntelligentCross US equities ATS. “The women in finance who I know are not looking for a gender advantage — they’re simply looking for a level playing field where they are not overtly disadvantaged. Women want a meritocracy because that is where we shine.”
High-profile women CEOs in finance include Jane Fraser of Citigroup; Adena Friedman of Nasdaq; Abigail Johnson of Fidelity Investments; and Thasunda Brown Duckett of TIAA.
“There are some exciting examples of women in C-suite leadership roles at large financial services brands today,” said Boucher, who spoke based on her 30 years’ experience in financial services and wasn’t offering views on behalf of her firm. “One can only hope that these stellar female leaders will not ‘pull up the drawbridge’ behind them and that they continue to advocate for the next generation of diverse talent. But many companies report a gap at the middle management level, which means there may be a dearth of female senior leadership in the near future.”
Oksana Cole works for the world’s largest inter-dealer broker, TP ICAP, leading dealer credit sales for their electronic subsidiary Liquidnet. “Historically, Wall Street firms like TP ICAP have been predominantly male,” Cole said. “Since I joined around eight years ago, I saw the firm evolve and invest in the fintech industry by hiring women. My sales team started with two females, and we are now a team of 12 with half being females.”
“From the start of my career here, I’ve been treated with respect and given the runway to do what I needed in order to succeed. I was promoted to Managing Director while pregnant with my first child,” Cole added. “I’ve always found that if you surround yourself with people that truly respect work ethic and help you achieve your potential, you can do anything. As an industry, we are not there yet, but we are moving in the right direction and making progress.”
“Women have demonstrated their competence, resilience, and vision in steering major financial institutions toward success,” said Tracy Moore, Director of Thought Leadership at Fenergo, a provider of financial and regulatory technology. “As we recognize the progress made by women in leadership, let’s also acknowledge the struggles and barriers that persist, and recommit ourselves to fostering a more inclusive future.”
A 25-year investment banking veteran, Moore joined Fenergo in late 2022. “I am proud to be surrounded by inspiring women leaders who not only excel in their respective roles but also generously share their knowledge and expertise, fostering an environment of continuous learning and empowerment,” she said. “A colleague at Fenergo shared an insightful quote that resonated with me: ‘Diversity is having a seat at the table, inclusion is having a voice at the table, and belonging is having that voice at the table being heard.’ This saying emphasizes the progression from representation, to active participation and recognition, to genuine acceptance and validation within organizational or societal contexts.”
One female electronic trading executive sounded a cautionary note.
“To be honest, I do not feel much difference between now and 20 years ago when I first started working on Wall Street,” said this executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “We’ve all heard about the good progress the industry has made over the years. However, the truth is we are only scratching the surface. It is much like The Emperor’s New Clothes: we all know things have not changed much, but no one is willing to point it out.”
Kirsten Wegner, CEO at Washington, DC-based advocacy group Modern Markets Initiative, was constructive about women at the intersection of financial technology, government, and politics. “It’s an exciting time to be a woman in fintech,” she said.
“In DC, it’s just as much about what you know as who you know,” Wegner added. “Our network is growing. Look at Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO), the first female chair of the capital markets subcommittee, shaping policy on equity markets and fintech. Look at the CFTC with four female commissioners, and the SEC with two female commissioners. In DC we also have an informal meet-up group, #finwomenDC, to share tips on balancing life and juggling our various roles as daughters, mothers, grandmothers, sisters, aunts, and friends. I was pregnant with my third child when I became CEO back in 2017, and having this network of trusted advisors, to share opportunities and informal feedback, is essential.”
Provi De Leon, who has 20 years’ experience in banking software and program management, is Managing Director, Treasury & Capital Markets Americas at fintech firm Finastra.
“While there will always be more work to be done to achieve a better, more inclusive world, we’re seeing incredible progress being made in financial services,” De Leon said. “Since women make up half the world’s population, it makes sense that they be appropriately represented across various teams and disciplines, including in financial services.”
“More than half of Finastra’s executive leadership team is made up of women, which is an important milestone,” De Leon continued. “When leadership teams more accurately reflect the diversity of our world, I believe different perspectives and experiences shine through, allowing us to better serve our customers and team members. I expect we’ll continue to see more efforts to achieve balance and gender parity across our industry.”
