Women’s work? Disappointingly few women at the top

And, while much has changed in the Canadian financial services industry over the past three decades, including record numbers of women having advanced credentials and the sharp rise in the number of mothers in the workplace, there is also much to be disappointed about. In particular, women remain badly underrepresented at senior levels: according to a census by New York-based research group Catalyst, in 2012, women accounted for only 18.6% of executive officers in the finance and insurance sectors among Fortune 500 companies.

In the Financial Post’s 2012 ranking of the top 500 companies in Canada, only 23.1% of all senior officers in the finance and insurance industries were women. There is little information about the percentage of female financial advisors in Canada, but statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor in 2012 show that female advisors are at the bottom of the list ranking the percentage of women in specific financial services positions: only 31.2% are advisors, compared with 53.5% being financial managers and 36.8% being financial analysts.

So, what is the answer to an issue that has plagued both the public and private sectors at least since Keene started her long climb to her current senior position? While women are graduating from colleges and universities in record numbers, many organizations continue to face challenges in recruiting and retaining women.

Some companies are developing entirely new initiatives aimed at recruiting women. Montreal-based Standard Life Assurance Co. of Canada, for example, is using social media to attract more young female employees. Standard Life is trying to ensure that its corporate culture doesn’t send out unintended vibes that women aren’t welcome.

“Like many firms, we are still in transformation mode,” says Sophie Fortin, senior vice president, people, business change and communications, with Standard Life. “But 15 years ago, we had a cafeteria for senior leaders, and those leaders were all men; so, we got rid of that. As well, we still have closed offices and we are moving to a more open concept. I think that it’s the visible initiatives that show employees that we are working differently and, regardless of gender or hierarchy, we are all in the same space.”

Fortin remembers the way things were when she started out, almost three decades ago, in the manufacturing industry: “Back then, I had young children, but I would never have mentioned that I had to leave the office early to pick them up from daycare. Now, you hear men in the office saying just that. It’s a nice change.”

Montreal-based National Bank of Canada is tackling the problem in a different way, by setting up a scholarship program to reach more women while they are still students. Now in its fourth year, the bank’s Women in Financial Markets Scholarship awards a total of $30,000 annually to three students enrolled in a finance-related graduate program at a Canadian university.

National Bank’s program supports recipients while they complete their postgraduate degree and offers the students an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the bank’s financial markets division through summer programs and internships. Scholarship winners are also paired with senior professionals in the bank’s financial markets sector, who act as mentors during the scholarship winners’ studies.

In addition to increasing the pool of women available for recruitment, says Susan Monteith, executive vice president with National Bank, the program also provides “the experience and connections needed to get full-time positions after graduation.”

A mentoring program can provide guidance for women who may think the top job is unattainable. Keene and other female executives at Nesbitt, for example, participate in a mentoring program for developing roles at the firm for women. Says Keene: “Young women have told me that I have been a role model for them and a source of inspiration. It’s important that we have women in these senior roles for that very reason.”

Whether or not a firm pursues such initiatives, it’s clear that firms will be under increasing pressure to do something to increase the number of women at higher levels. If a firm is not taking active measures to recruit, retain and promote women, it may even find itself getting a sharp nudge from regulators.

This past July, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) published a consultation paper proposing that listed firms disclose board membership and senior management positions by gender. The OSC is also looking at the possibility of having public companies disclose the number of women who have been considered for board membership, among other senior positions.

Still, the fact that women still occupy only a small fraction of top-earning jobs is disappointing, considering the number of women who are graduating from post-secondary programs.

According to a 2008 report by Catalyst, women earned more than 53% of the degrees in business, management and public administration and averaged 34.5% of MBA graduates in Canada.

Part of the problem seems to be that women still face barriers when it comes to accommodating the often diametrically opposed demands of having young children and building a career.

Indeed, starting a family can be a difficult decision for a woman in any career; but for mothers who are advisors, the challenges can be particularly daunting.

Too often, such women may find themselves making choices that have not changed for women in three decades.

Sheila Munch, a senior financial planning advisor with Oshawa, Ont.-based Durham Financial Inc., decided 30 years ago that she wanted to move from the banking side of financial services to become an advisor. But her dream had to be put on hold until her financial situation was more stable. As a single mother with a young child, Munch knew there would be obstacles ahead that just wouldn’t be manageable for her at that time: “I had to wait until I was financially secure to be able to do that. I had a mouth to feed other than my own.”

Within a few years, Munch had married and, with the support of her husband, made the transition to being an advisor. But even then, things weren’t easy. With a young child at home, Munch remembers many evenings being stuck at work and relying on her mother to babysit. However, Munch always made it a priority that the weekends were for her family only: “Yes, you have a professional business. But not many people see their lawyer or accountant on the weekend.”

So-called “advances” designed to address some of these problems don’t always work. Many female advisors still find it virtually impossible to take a paid maternity leave of six months to a year because their absence can lead to losing too many clients – a body blow to any advisor’s career.

Building client relationships is at the heart of the advisory business, and many advisors who are mothers fear that their clients will be “poached” if the advisor is not a constant presence. To avoid this risk, many women still take only a few weeks off after having a baby, then remain active in their advisory business while juggling clients and diapers.

Some women even have tried to meld the two worlds. Keene jokes about an advisor who, desperate to make the unworkable work, came up with the “solution” several years ago of setting up a playpen in her office.

Keene notes, however, that the digital revolution of the past decade has helped to level the playing field for mothers – somewhat. “You couldn’t work from home back then,” she says, referring to the playpen ruse, “because virtual networks didn’t exist. Today, this is an industry that is ideally suited for that situation. If you have access to high-speed Internet, then you have access to your job.”

Another evolving trend that can be helpful to mothers is the advent of small groups of advisors within larger organizations who work as self-contained teams. Keene heads up one such team at Nesbitt. Because the team’s clients are a joint responsibility, each team member can step in to assist another member who needs to take time away from the workplace.

This setup also helps those who may have other personal issues, such as recovering from a serious illness or caring for an ailing family member. Notes Keene: “Today, we see large teams of advisors becoming a real trend. Together, they are able to facilitate all the requirements needed to have a strong work/life balance.”

Keene hired her first associate investment advisor in 1993. Since, the team has expanded; now, Keene, two investment advisors and two assistants manage 327 households’ accounts.

As in other areas in which the work landscape is changing almost daily, women who wish to go the distance in the financial services industry must remain adaptable and persistent. If they do, it appears that many more options are available to them.

The gender advantage

Being a member of a minority group should be seen as an opportunity, says Sheila Munch, senior financial planning advisor with Oshawa-based Durham Financial Inc., not a roadblock.

Munch joined the advisory business in 2000 knowing that she would have to stand out among her male peers if she wanted to survive. She did. In Munch’s first year, she received the Advisor of the Year award while working at Toronto-based Assante Wealth Management (Canada) Ltd. In 2008, she joined forces with another female advisor to develop a niche catering to women.

“As women,” Munch says, “we have a huge advantage in connecting with women and showing them the emotional side of the business, letting them know that we understand their struggles and fears.”

Munch and her business partner, Glenda Baker, senior financial planning advisor with Durham Financial, have had more than their share of life lessons. Baker lost her husband at a young age and was left with two teenaged children. Munch went through a divorce. Currently, 25% of Munch and Baker’s clientele are female; the partners want to increase their marketing efforts toward women.

“We can be extremely empathetic,” Munch says. “When we say we know what our clients are going through, we truly have been there.”

Munch and Baker had similar industry experience, starting out as bank tellers and working their way up into the advisory world. Both partners are certified divorce financial analysts and have a similar investment and financial planning style with clients.

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