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Giovanna Brozzon

Professor Stacey Said

Writing as Inquiry 016

27 October 2021

Solutions Essay

1. Introduction

Do you know why men tend to be more successful than women in the finance

world? It’s not because they are more qualified or better at their jobs, it’s just due to the

fact that they were born as men. Their gender is what makes them superior in the finance

world. Women are unable to succeed in finance because men don’t see them as equals

and this is negatively affecting them psychologically and economically. What causes this

issue is men’s negative perception of women. Research has shown that men don’t see

women as equal in the financial world because they believe that women can't negotiate as

well as men, don’t have the same confidence as men, are too risk-averse, and they

prioritize their families over work. These unjust and inaccurate stereotypes have led

women to be greatly disadvantaged when it comes to progressing their careers, leading to

them being economically worse off and negatively affecting their psychological

well-being. This problem has not only affected all women who try to succeed in the

financial field, but also the economy as a whole. According to McKinsey and Company

data, $4.3 trillion could be added to the country’s economy if gender parity in finance is

reached by 2025 (Connley). This shows the gravity of this issue and how it not only

affects women, it affects all of us. In order to stop the underestimation of women in the

finance field negatively affecting women from progressing their careers, finance
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companies should apply diversity initiatives that give women more opportunities at

leadership positions because; it would inspire other women and make them believe they

have a chance, it would help women improve their networking, and it would women the

incentive to seek a leadership position without the fear of losing their job if they failed.

2. Proposed Solution

The only way to end this issue is for finance companies all over the world to

implement diversity initiatives that give women more opportunities at leadership

positions. An example of this being mandating to have at least one female board

member.This would not only give women in the finance sector the same opportunities as

men, it would also encourage more women to join the financial workforce. For this to

happen the men with leadership positions in finance companies would have to accept

there is a problem that needs to be solved, and work with their female employees to

create a fair solution that would allow them to progress their financial careers. These
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changes inside the structural organization of the companies should happen right away

before the issue gets worse and affects our economy and women in the financial

workforce even more. This solution would involve cooperation from the upper

management in financial companies and a huge change in the structural organization of

the companies for women to be given the same opportunities as their male co-workers.

3. Justification for Solution

If finance companies were to carry out diversity initiatives that give women more

opportunities at leadership positions, it would inspire women in the financial workforce

to see other women in positions of power and make them believe they have a chance in

succeeding in the financial world. This is important because “Nineteen percent of women

and twelve percent of men say the biggest obstacle in the financial workplace is a lack of

female leadership”, and “fourteen percent of women say their biggest obstacle is a lack of

mentorship or sponsorship.” (Boorstin). The lack of women role models in the financial

world makes men underestimate women as being able to hold leadership roles, and

women believe that it is nearly impossible to succeed. This relates to the famous saying,

“you can’t be what you can’t see”. Since there are very few women with leadership

positions in the finance world, women are discouraged from entering the workforce and

following their ambition because they don’t think they will triumph. However, this would

change if financial companies were to apply diversity initiatives that give women more

opportunities at leadership positions because it would lead to women having role models.

Having a role model is very important, especially in sectors such as finance in which

women lack representation in leadership positions because this would help women who

are starting their careers to have more confidence in their abilities and increase their
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ambitions and their expectations for their careers. It would also promote their careers

because they would have mentors which would help guide them in the right direction to

succeed. Overall, women in corporate America are 24% less likely than men to get advice

from senior leaders, according to a Lean In and SurveyMonkey study. This affects their

careers negatively because when women are not afforded sponsorship and mentorship

opportunities, they are less likely to be recommended for the jobs that will really get them

into high-level positions, and more likely to be “left out of development and advancement

opportunities” (Connley). In conclusion, if finance companies were to apply diversity

initiatives that give women more opportunities at leadership positions this would not only

increase the number of women entering the finance sector, but it would also allow the

women in the financial sector to be further their careers by having access to mentorship

and role models that would feed their ambition.

Another reason why finance companies should enact diversity initiatives that give

women more opportunities at leadership positions is because it would help women in the

financial workforce improve their networking. “Women are about four times as likely as

men to be excluded from networking and social opportunities, such as after-work drinks

or golf outings.” (Boorstin). This has a negative effect on their careers because since they

are less involved they are less aware of opportunities for promotion and their supervisors

may not know about their ambitions, so when they don’t seek these opportunities men

just assume it’s because of lack of confidence. If financial companies were to apply

diversity initiatives that give women more opportunities at leadership positions, this

would change because women would be able to be more connected in their peer networks

which would give them the advantage that men already have, and therefore giving them
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the same opportunities as their male co-workers. A recent study that was talked about in

the article by Deloitte insights found that women who secured high-ranking leadership

positions were most likely to be well-connected within their peer network, proving that

networking is vital in order to succeed in finance. In conclusion, a huge disadvantage

women face in the financial workforce is the fact that they are not included in networking

like their male co-workers, but if more women were given leadership opportunities then

women would have the same opportunities as men, hence, they would be able to use

networking to boost their careers.

The last reason why finance companies should put into effect diversity initiatives

that give women more opportunities at leadership positions is because it would give

women the incentive to seek a leadership position without the fear of losing their job if

they failed. Several studies reported by the Harvard Business review have shown that

because women are watched more carefully in the workplace than their male co-workers,

their mistakes and failures are punished more severely and given more importance which

is why they are more precautious when seeking leadership positions because they fear

they may jeopardize their careers. But, if finance companies were to implement diversity

initiatives that give women more opportunities at leadership positions women would be

less scared of seeking opportunities because it wouldn’t be unusual for a woman to have

this sort of leadership position. This would allow women in the finance sector to be able

to progress their careers since they would be seeking all the opportunities available and

therefore they would have more chances of getting a promotion.

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4. Limitations

One of the limitations to this solution is that those who run the upper management

don’t see women as equal to men, therefore they don’t want to give them the same

opportunities because they believe men are a better fit for higher positions. Since upper

management doesn’t believe women are as good as men for leadership positions they

don’t want to promote them, which is why they wouldn’t want to implement diversity

initiatives that give women more opportunities at leadership positions. The reason for this

is that they underestimate women and box them in incorrect stereotypes. Men believe that

men are better than women for leadership roles because “Women negotiate poorly, lack

confidence, are too risk-averse, and don’t put in the requisite hours at work because they

value family more than their careers.” (Rogers). All of these have been proven to be false

by science, but still, men tend to see women with this negative perspective. It’s because

of this that “women are 24 percent less likely to attain their first promotion than their

male peers” (Chin, Krivkovich, Nadeau). The only solution to this is that women have to

prove that these stereotypes are incorrect and that they are perfectly capable of doing the

same job a man does. They have to speak their mind and seek opportunities for

promotion themselves because they probably won’t be offered to them.

The other limitation to this solution is that finance companies won’t implement

the diversity initiatives because most upper management are not aware of this issue, thus

it is not a priority for them to solve it. Upper management is not aware that they are

discriminating against women in the financial workforce, they are not doing it on purpose

they just actually believe that men will do a better job in leadership positions than

women. This has to do with the stereotypes mentioned earlier, but also with the fact that
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men are promoted and hired based on their potential while women are usually promoted

and hired based on what they have already accomplished. It’s because of this that when

superiors are deciding who to give a promotion to they tend to lean to men because they

are focusing on what they will accomplish, unlike when they look at women they focus

on what they have already accomplished without ever giving them the opportunity to

accomplish anything. Companies don’t pay attention to this gender bias which leads to

the leadership positions to be continued to be filled by men while women aren’t even

considered. A survey I conducted proves this. In my survey, I asked men who are a part

of the financial workforce to answer questions to see if they were aware of this gender

bias. I asked them questions such as; Do you believe there are differences made between

men and women in the financial workforce?, and Do you believe men and women get the

same amount of promotion opportunities in the financial workforce?. From their

responses I was able to conclude that men are not aware of the gender bias in the

financial workforce, which is why they don’t see a problem that needs to be fixed. Since

men are not aware of the problem they won’t implement the diversity initiatives to help

women further their financial careers. Consequently, the only solution once again is for

women to fix it themselves. They need to raise awareness on this issue, call the men out

and demonstrate why this is a problem that needs to be fixed. The magnitude of this issue

should be understood by all the upper management of the financial companies for them to

understand how essential it is for them to implement the diversity initiatives needed to

give women the same opportunities (they rightfully deserve) as men.

5. Conclusion
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In conclusion, the underestimation of women in the finance world is a huge issue

that not only affects women economically and psychologically, but also affects the

economy as a whole. Measures should be made to resolve this issue because it affects all

of us and if not dealt with it will only get worse. Not only should the women directly

affected by this care, but also the men that are causing this problem since it is also

negatively affecting them and their careers by impeding progress in the financial

workforce. In order to solve this issue, awareness should be raised on this subject and all

finance companies should modify their structural organizations to apply diversity

initiatives that give women more opportunities at leadership positions.

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Works Cited

Boorstin, Julia. “Survey: It's Still Tough to Be a Woman on Wall Street - but Men Don't Always

Notice.” CNBC, CNBC, 26 June 2018,

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/25/surveyon-wall-street-workplace-biases-persist---but-m

en-dont-see-t.html.

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3IlzcllYkR3qVrE_3D

Connley, Courtney. “Ambition Is Not the Problem: Women Want the Top Jobs-They Just Don't

Get Them.” CNBC, CNBC, 12 Jan. 2021,

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Patel, Keyur. “Can Role Models Encourage More Women to Consider a Career in Finance?

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Rogish , Alison, et al. “Within Reach?” Deloitte Insights,

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Subscribe to Read | Financial Times, Financial Times, 17 Oct. 2019,

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