March 2022
Distribution 5,687
International Women’s Day 2022: #BreakTheBias
JonesTrading Institutional Services LLC &
STA WIF Co-Chair

Growing up in Ukraine, March 8th, International Women’s Day, was one of the most important holidays of the year. It was a time to get together with family and friends to celebrate our mothers, daughters, grandmothers, wives, teachers, colleagues and every woman that surrounds us with love, care and inspiration. The holiday was filled with warmth, flowers and the deep appreciation for all the contributions that women make to our lives and to society.

Today, International Women's Day is celebrated around the world in many countries. It represents the unity of women; the civil, political, cultural and economic movement with the purpose to highlight the fact, that women are the integral force in every aspect of our lives. History shows, that with every challenge, women will step up to new heights, and repeatedly break that gender bias.

Women step up, show up, come together, put on the uniform, whichever uniform that might be, for one goal: to keep the peace and have a free world for our children and future generations to come.

This has not resonated more strongly than during current tumultuous times in Ukraine, and the whole world. As Ukraine continues to fight to preserve its independence, culture and freedom, the women of its country, and women around the world, feel the unity. Women step up, show up, come together, put on the uniform, whichever uniform that might be, for one goal: to keep the peace and have a free world for our children and future generations to come.

On this International Women's Day, the STA Women in Finance Committee wishes all women continue to stay strong, persevere, succeed and stay on our path of unity and equality. 


“Despite failures, you stand up. Despite sorrow, you cheer up. Despite the pain, you keep fighting! Keep dreaming to fly higher reaching new heights.”
--Unknown


More about Inessa Bondarenko Ruffman
Inessa was born and raised in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. In 2001, at the age of 16 years old, she and her family immigrated to the United States.

Inessa attended Baruch College in New York City. Upon graduation, she began her career her at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Today, she is a Managing Director and Head of Risk
at JonesTrading and resides in Los Angeles with her family.
Women Who Inspire - Suggested Reading
  • No Higher Honor. A Memoir of My Years in Washington by Condoleezza Rice
  • The Iron Lady. Margaret Thatcher, from Grocer’s Daughter to Prime Minister by John Campbell
  • Becoming by Michelle Obama
  • Lean In. Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg
  • The Women with Silver Wings by Katherine Sharp Landdeck
  • East to the Dawn: The Life of Amelia Earhart by Susan Butler
Articles of Interest
             
While Slowly Improving, a Lack of Diversity in the Financial Planning Industry Persists
CNBC
Financial planning — and the financial services industry, more broadly — has long been an arena of predominantly white men. Industry leaders have been working to boost diversity, and while progress has been slow, it seems to be bearing some fruit. Still, 83% of certified financial planners in 2021 were white, and 77% were men, according to the CFP Board.

Why Women Need to Take a More Active Role in Their Financial Futures
Kiplinger
Too many women leave decisions about their financial futures to their husbands — and that’s hardly a retirement plan. And because women tend to live longer than men, it’s imperative that they take an active role in plotting out what’s happening with the money that will see them through the latter part of their lives.

How Should I Think About This Market Volatility?
Ellevest
Before we start talking about the markets, I want to first take a moment to pause and recognize the true cost at the heart of events like those we’ve been watching unfold in Eastern Europe over the past week — the human cost. From this distance, it can be easy to get caught up in the financial waves rippling outward from the latest geopolitical crisis, what conflict elsewhere means for us, especially when the markets have already been volatile lately.

Women in Leadership Continue to Lag
Markets Media
I hope we are past the point of asking if efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion are a luxury or necessity. There is plenty of empirical data that says these efforts optimize leadership decision making, reduce attrition rates, generate better business opportunities, and foster innovation. We need these initiatives in place, and the challenge remains regarding how quickly we in financial services can adapt and ensure support for all talent to consistently access opportunities, regardless of social class, identities, and backgrounds.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Negotiating Your Salary
Career Contessa
Whether you’ve just been offered a job or you’re gunning for a raise, negotiating your salary can be tricky. Perhaps you hesitate because you don’t want to seem ungrateful—you’re happy to have a job in the first place. Or maybe you’re scared countering a salary offer will lead to the offer being retracted. Or, quite possibly, you just hate negotiating altogether. Whatever your reason, we’ve all been there.
Thank You to Our
Premier Sponsors of STA Women in Finance
Cboe Global Markets
Clearpool
ION
MEMX
NYSE
Robinhood
Sponsorship Inquiries
Dawn Combs
STA
708-870-4969
Follow STA WIF on Twitter

@STAWomen ‌