Does Finance Make Women Less Feminine? | TheGrindstone

Nancy Reagan once said ?I think a woman gets more if she acts feminine.? That may be true for a lot of aspects of life but does this theory hold up in the finance industry?

A woman who works on all male trading desk at a major investment bank in New York said:

?You are surrounded by men yelling and screaming and showing their anger. In order to be heard sometimes I do in fact have to scream on to the phone but I also feel pressure to do this to keep up and show I can do this too. I consider myself to be very a gentle person in real life but this environment definitely my aggressive side comes out.?

About 70% of trading jobs are filled by men, according to the?Bureau of Labor Statistics. For many working in finance, especially trading, then they are probably outnumbered by the opposite sex.? Is the encouragement of aggression really making women less feminine though?

Denise Winston, a former banker turned financial educator said:

?As I was a bank manager by the time I was 27 and YES working in finance demanded I learn to command respect which often meant developing masculine traits. Bottom line is often times men, younger women and certain cultures have a hard time taking direction from, respecting and dealing with women in an authoritative position. I learned early on that many things in life are not right or fair they just are the way they are and if you want to succeed you better figure a way to survive.?

However, some women we talked to found adopting these more stereo-typically male characteristics to be counter-productive in finance.

Regina Barr, a former financial marketing executive, founder and CEO of Red Ladder, Inc., and founder of? the Women at the TopR Network said:

?I don?t believe that anyone is encouraging women in finance to yell and curse. Nor are the men encouraged to, I might add, but some do anyway. But women shouldn?t be wilting flowers either when others yell and curse. They need to take it all in stride. Instead, women have been encouraged to interject (like the men do) and not wait their turn to speak (or god forbid, raise their hands) to ensure that their ideas and opinions are heard. They?ve been encouraged to speak in a direct way (using headline type communications, think sound bites), so that their message will be heard and not get lost in the shuffle (women tend to use more words diluting their message, about 20,000 a day versus 7,000 a day for men). And, they?ve been encouraged to speak up, negotiate and get their needs met (and those of their teams). Aside from all that, the studies show while men can yell and curse, women who do so damage their careers. As unfair as that may seem, it?s just not an acceptable behavior in women. So, while there are trade-offs that women must make if they want to play in the field of finance, cursing and yelling isn?t one of them.?

Lisa McDonald, a former manager with McDonald Investments and Merrill Lynch, now runs her own career transition and management company:

?It was not a question of survival rather a question of thriving within that environment and being aware of my feminine qualities assisted me in doing just that. The clich? of swimming wit the sharks can be appropriate and they can smell fear and trying to be something you are not is an indicator of fear; therefore trying to be ?one of the guys? or behaving in a more stereotypical male manner would support that fear. Strength comes from self-awareness and self-acceptance. Not only am I a woman, I?m a very petite woman, all of five feet tall with a very thin/athletic build. It would have been very easy for me to try to become invisible or take it to the other extreme in becoming loud, boisterous and even curse more as you suggested; however that would have been counter-productive. Instead I presented myself as a professional in both manner and dress, my suits were skirt suits that were tailored, my communication style was open yet professional.?

Andrew Schrage, a former hedge fund portfolio analyst and Editor of? the Money Crashers personal finance blog, had some interesting thoughts on the subject. He pointed out that it may actually be more the viewpoint of others in the industry that are thinking these women may be acting more masculine than them actually actively trying to appear more male.

?I think there is definitely an element of looking at them as less feminine and thinking they automatically have that tomboy mentality. But naturally a lot of women feel pressure to take on more masculine traits. They may try to act tougher and curse more because they already are starting behind the 8 ball. They do try to prove that they can hang tough with the guys.?

But he added that if they do take on these mannish traits it may make them more manly all around but some women are very good at turning that switch off and being one way at work and a different way with their family and friends. ?I mean the best approach is for women just to be themselves and do the best job possible.?

Maura Dowling, CFP and a former employee of Merrill Lynch, said, ?It is very important for women to retain their identities because that is the only way the culture will change.?

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Source: http://thegrindstone.com/strategy/does-finance-make-women-less-feminine-491/

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