Diversity is the ultimate diversification strategy

Those of you who have read my posts or heard me speak know that I am a strong advocate of diversifying your investments. In my view, one of the most powerful applications of diversification is in building strong teams. Diverse teams lead to better decisions and better business results. International Women’s Day, which celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, recognizes this evolution with its theme this year – #ChooseToChallenge. This theme reminds me that each day brings with it the challenge of moving our industry toward the goal of a more balanced workforce.  

As co-chair of the RBC Wealth Management Diversity Leadership Committee for Canada, I am part of a group that is working hard to promote diversity across the organization so that we can build diverse teams. This can be achieved in many ways including gender, education, experience, ethnicity and cognitive diversity. While I mentor and coach people from many different groups, I’m most passionate about gender diversity and encouraging more women to consider finance and a career in asset management.

Did you know that only 11% of all fund managers in Canada are women? And that less than 20% of CFA charter holders globally are women? Why are more women not becoming fund managers? Why are more women not pursuing their CFA designation? An analyst by training, I set out to unpack the problem and find the root cause of the issue.

My first thought was to look back over my own career. I have a finance degree and a CFA, and I work in the asset management industry. Why did I make these choices? Answering this question would take some time, but I can tell you that I am drawn to tasks that require analysis, intellectual rigour and attention to detail, and that I thrive in a constantly changing environment where I can learn something new every day. Frankly, it never crossed my mind that being a woman in this industry was an impediment. I believe that part of my success is due to joining a strong organization that believes in diversity early in my career, and working for a supportive mentor and boss that entire time.

So why are young women not drawn to the industry like I was when I started out? Through many conversations with colleagues, university administrators, students and even my own daughter, I have traced the problem back to high school and the early days of university where young women aren’t receiving the information that they need to understand what a career in finance might entail.

The good news is that more young women are pursuing business degrees in university and, in fact, statistics show that we now have a fairly even split of men and women in business school. However, studies have found that female business students often choose fields that focus more on “soft” skills such as human resources and marketing, whereas men gravitate towards the fields of finance or economics. When I ask young women why they aren’t considering finance as a specialty, I get some very candid answers. These include a lack of female role models; the “boys club” culture; a perception that the industry is not female-friendly, and more importantly, not family friendly for those women who want to eventually start a family; a feeling of intimidation; a lack of confidence. So while we may have a 50/50 split in men and women entering business school, when it comes time to choose a major, many women do not choose finance as a specialty.

I believe we can all do our part to help shift the balance and encourage more women to consider finance and asset management. Here are some ideas of how we can all help to challenge the perceptions of the industry: 

Start early - talk to girls in middle school or high school about the opportunities that we see in our field and how we have successfully navigated our careers. We must present ourselves as role models to build a stronger base of interest among girls. We can volunteer to speak at “Take Our Kids to Work Day” to get in front of Grade 9 students or at career days in the school.

Volunteer your time – there are many opportunities for mentoring, coaching and sharing experiences with young people. Many students reach out to me and I try to make time for as many as possible so that I can answer their questions and put myself forward as an example of a woman who has a successful career in finance.

Get involved with your alma mater – volunteering your time to your college or university is one of the best ways to effect positive change. While I focus much of my time on my alma mater (University of Ottawa), I also spend time with students at other universities across Canada. My efforts to connect with students include serving on the Dean’s advisory board, formal mentoring of students, presentations to groups of students, and participating in alumni receptions and roundtable discussions with student organizations. I have also delivered lectures to students in both first and second year. While I spoke about investments in general, my real goal was to try and spark an interest in finance before they have to choose their major. 

Each of these initiatives may seem small on its own, but if we all #ChooseToChallenge then we can collectively make a difference. These interactions can help expand the potential talent pool and grow the ranks of strong female candidates, and that will enable us to build diverse teams. My hope is that a decade from now, we will have met the goal of a more balanced workforce in asset management.