This week people all over the world celebrated love on Valentine’s Day. While primarily an occasion to celebrate romantic love, it also provides the opportunity to consider other forms of love.
I’m not sure wealth management can be described as a particularly romantic industry nor one people have great love affairs with. Indeed, it is hard to imagine young children dreaming of becoming portfolio managers when they grow up.
That said, I am sure I am not alone in having found aspects of the industry I do really like and appreciate. However, one of those aspects has become somewhat of a labour of love.
Getting to meet inspirational women who hold senior roles in the industry is always a personal highlight. The main downside – there are still far too few.
Despite positive interactions on many previous articles on this topic, male commentators and spokespeople still far outweigh their female counterparts. At times, particularly with time sensitive news, it can still be difficult to find a female spokesperson, which is a regular source of frustration.
As International Women’s Day approaches, I’m repeating a plea.
Please do not highlight women in the industry for one day only and then revert straight back to the norm.
There are 365 (it’s a leap year!) other days in the year in which these women have opinions and interesting things to say – encourage them to say them!
While overall IWD is a positive initiative and shines the spotlight on a very important topic, one day of action is simply not enough.
Even in 2024, women face difficulties in many areas, including in the workplace and financially.
Of particular relevance to the wealth management sector, HM Treasury’s modification to the definition of a high net worth individual from £100,000 to £170,000 at the end of January has been highlighted by many in the industry.
There are concerns that this will severely impact female founders seeking capital to build and grow businesses. This was already a challenge before these changes were announced, with less than two percent of VC funding on average being awarded to female founders over the past decade.
Throughout the wealth management industry, there are many women who have been championing others and highlighting these issues for many years and continue to do so, even when at times it feels like little progress is being made.
Perhaps this year, rather than offering little more than corporate platitudes, IWD could be used to listen and engage with the aim of facilitating meaningful change.
We’ve got three weeks till we find out…
