August 2018
Distribution 4,065
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Intentional and Mindful
by Jodie Emmert - Mrotek
STA Secretary & Treasurer
Spend enough time in any male dominated industry and you will experience a certain amount of locker room, or ‘bro talk.’ Most of the time it takes place among men-only crowds, the historical and continued under-representation of women in trading and management positions makes the absence of women more commonplace. There are occasions, however, when a woman is present and her desire to perhaps be “just one of the guys” gets an unwanted challenge and finding her voice to speak up is difficult. For me personally, I can recall times when I was guilty of not just remaining silent in the presence of ‘bro talk’ but even engaging in it. While I cringe when recalling some of those moments, they helped identify and acknowledge my own biases while providing me with the desire, the wisdom and the courage to get it right the next time.
As the one-year anniversary of the
#MeToo
movement approaches, most would agree that while progress has been made we have a long way to go in doing away with old behaviors, stereotypes and biases, particularly in the financial services industry. In order to effect meaningful, generational change we need to continue to work together in our effort to break through gender barriers and push back on the constructs that have allowed and still allow these issues to continue. We need to be mindful that who we are as individuals as well as an industry is reflected not only in our words and actions but also in our silence.
We all make mistakes and there will always be missteps in judgement. When we are intentional in our choices, however, these missteps will get smaller and occur less frequently. I have recently again been reminded that silence can be just as powerful as any word or action. Our silence on those occasions speaks volumes; it gives tacit acceptance of the inherent biases and behaviors that plague our industry and serves to endorse those same behaviors and biases in its practitioners, regardless of intent.
It is incumbent on both men and women to be intentional with our words and actions, and to be mindful that sometimes it is our silence that is the greater reflection of who we are as an industry. Where we go, who we want to be and how the world will see us are always reflected in both, and all moments, big and small, have power. What we choose to do in those moments is on us.
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Women in Finance Events
STA Chicago
Women's Collective Networking Reception
Thursday, September 27, 2018
4:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Omega Chicago Boutique
909 N. Michigan Avenue
Information and register
here
STA 3rd Annual Women in Finance Symposium*
Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018
11:00 am - 12:30 pm
JW Marriott Washington DC
Grand Ballroom
*STA WIF Symposium is part of
STA's Market Structure Conference.
All
registrants welcome!
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#PutHerOnThePanel
STA 85th Annual Market Structure Conference:
Shaping the Future
Oct. 3-5, 2018
Other subject matter experts include:
Shelly Bohlin
, FINRA
Catherine Clay
,
Cboe Global Markets
Arianne Criqui
, Goldman Sachs
Suni Harford
, UBS Asset Management
Manisha Kimmel
, Thomson Reuters
Jennifer Litwin
, Greenwich Associates
Judy McDonald
, Susquehanna
Christy Oeth
, Virtu Financial
Sapna Patel
, Morgan Stanley
Kimberly Russell
, State Street Global Advisors
Alison Singer,
Autism Science Foundation
...more to come!
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Articles of Interest
Have you ever been sexually harassed?
by Rebecca Greenfield, Bloomberg
"
Sallie Krawcheck, a pioneer for women in finance, talks with up-and-comer Bianca Caban about the uncomfortable reality of being a woman in a male-dominated industry"
here
At Hedge Funds, Where Are the Women?
by Rob Copeland, WSJ
"
At hedge funds, women do just about any job—but rarely run the money. Of the largest 50 U.S. hedge funds by assets under management, only two have women as their top investment executive, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of data from researcher Absolute Return.
here
ECB Is Said to Prefer Woman to Head Powerful Banking Watchdog
by Nicolas Comfort, Alessandro Speciale and Dara Doyle, Bloomberg
"Candidates to become Europe’s next top banking watchdog could find that for all their competence, experience and political support, the trump card might be gender."
here
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See all STA Women in Finance Newsletters
here
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