Funny, but I have always thought that the financial services industry was a great place for a woman.

Granted, I like numbers. Give me an annual report and an Excel spreadsheet and I can happily entertain myself for hours. More or less running your own business, calling your own shots — that has a lot of appeal, too. And doing something worthwhile with your working life, such as helping people toward financial security, has much to recommend it.

So, when Investment Executive did its first Report on Women in Financial Services in 1994, I was surprised to learn that women made up only about 16% of the industry. Then, I got to know more about the industry and what the old boys did at their club.

In the 1990s, there were always stories floating around about wholesalers entertaining advisors and making sure part of the entertainment was ladies of the night. A well-lubricated evening at the local strip club was another way a wholesaler could show an advisor his appreciation for the advisor’s business.

Some of the stuff was pretty blatant. I remember a conference at which one of the exhibitors had Hooters girls at the booth. The assets on display had nothing to do with mutual funds; performance was measured not in basis points but in terms of cleavage and taunt torsos.

I guess it never occurred to the industry that women might not find these testosterone-laden tactics appealing. Maybe, in the 1990s, it hadn’t occurred to the industry that it wanted to appeal to women.

As it turned out, there was a pretty good reason why there weren’t more women in the industry in 1994.

Fortunately, things have changed, as this year’s report shows. There are significantly more women in middle and upper management. There are still some challenges — the number of women in the advisory business still doesn’t equal the number of men. But the women who are there see that as an advantage. They have found out that women especially like to deal with women advisors. And women have money.

Workplaces have changed. I hesitate to say they are more women-friendly because, really, they are more people-friendly. Flexible hours, parental leave, sabbaticals and working in teams may have evolved to meet the needs of women whom the firms wanted to attract, but they go a long way toward helping every advisor hang on to that fragile work/life balance. Making the industry a better place for women has made it a better place for men as well.

Women may be getting wiser, too. One of the comments that stand out for me comes from a couple of the women who have made it to the top of their firms: you can’t have
it all.

The late 1990s honed the myth of the Super Mom, the woman who could have it all. She effortlessly handled the challenges of her job while she catered to the needs of her perfectly adjusted children and her help-mate husband. A lot of women struggled under that illusion, which guaranteed they would never find success.

The women we talked to in our Special Report have a more realistic attitude. As women work their way toward success they have learned something men have long known — success requires sacrifices. You make your choices and move on. Some of the sacrifices will be worth it; some won’t. But you don’t get there without taking that risk.

No, you can’t have it all. But there is certainly lots you can have. And women are making the financial services industry a better place to be.

-Tessa Wilmott, Editor-In-Chief