Why are only 23% of CFPs women? Why are even fewer women in leadership roles? Why aren't more women entering the business? What can existing firms and leaders do to encourage more women to become financial advisors and help them through the tough early years? Those are just a few of the questions Eleanor and I discussed on today's show about how to hire and train women financial advisors.
All firm leaders and industry leaders reading this post and listening to this podcast have a role to play in encouraging more women to enter the business and helping ensure they succeed. Frankly, it's a great business for women. They possess certain interpersonal skills that make them ideally suited for the human-to-human nature of this work.
Unfortunately, there's a stereotype among many women that this business is all about sales and numbers. Sure, that's part of it, but ultimately it's much more than that.
When it comes to training women financial advisors, Eleanor said, "I think a training program has to make sure that she understands the timeline for advancement, the expectations for the role, the responsibilities, where she is going to be in the firm if she meets expectations in the next year, 2 years and beyond."
Hiring women makes good business sense. "Firms need to realize that having more women in a firm does very positive things to the workplace environment, to the culture, even the bottom line. Large companies who have put more women in leadership positions, management positions, really do have higher return numbers measured in a number of ways. It's just good business," said Eleanor.
Oh, and let's not forget, women may be slightly better investors than men, according to various studies.