As women in the financial services/retirement plan industry, there is great debate on whether we, as women, need separate time and attention. I mean, it’s 2016, right?
Why are we singling out women to give them their own conference? Women’s Lib was 40 years ago!
Ironically enough, the women at NAPA Connect discussed the same question. Here’s what we uncovered:
Because we are women, we do face different professional and personal challenges than men in our industry.
Whether it be the ever-escaping balance of work and life, juggling being the lead parent with the lead advisor role, working in an “old school” environment where the expectation is that women should not hold leadership positions, or dealing with occasional inappropriate comments, women have different challenges to navigate in a financial services career.
If we want girls and young women to aspire to be an influential woman in this industry, we have to show them it’s possible.
With less than 30% of our industry being female, it’s difficult to show that role models exist without some effort to raise the visibility. Sadly, and though it doesn’t necessarily feel good, women-only awards and the like are still key in raising visibility.
Women – across all industries – have historically have been more inclined to tear each other down rather than help move other women up the ladder of success.
Why? There is a lot of speculation, but likely due to a feeling of scarcity in roles and opportunities for women left over from the days where that was a hard and fast rule.
Women tend naturally toward collaboration and having an environment where this is a norm is valuable.
Typically, though it is shifting with younger generations, there is still a reluctance for women to speak up speak up. Though women receive mentorship, they are also less likely to have someone use their influence to move them ahead at work. Having a collaborative atmosphere, which women embrace more naturally, and support network goes a long way to helping move the needle toward better outcomes.
As Lynne Hambleton, Leadership Development Coach, put it best in her closing, quoting an African proverb: If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.
Courtenay V. Shipley, CRPS, AIF, CPFA, is the Chief Planologist at Retirement Planology, Inc.
