The world of finance has always been a relatively male dominated world. This cultural tendency of ours, where money seems to be the private domain of men, in the company and in the family, is not going away. Add to that ageism, and the equation is as perfect as it is unfair.
Comma has been working with companies in the financial sector for 25 years and, interestingly, we have many women in leadership positions in their respective companies. Moreover, many all-female teams achieve the same – or even better – results than all-male teams. In any case, woman, much less numerous in certain sectors such as the STEM sector (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics),is also the less common in the financial world especially when it comes to first positions.
What is it that makes women less present in financial sectors? Is this really the case or is it simply that they have much less visibility?
Women are the ones who manage household economies, yet it is women who manage investment and savings. There is a clear need for women to empower themselves through financial freedom by being solely and ultimately responsible for their own finances. Precisely, a recent Bank of America report highlights that even in less affluent countries, more and more women are accessing banking services and becoming more involved in managing their money and making their own investment decisions.
Many examples
But today we want to talk less about women’s freedom through financial independence and more about the role of women professionals in a largely male-dominated sector. And of that, in comma, we have many references that today, 8 March, coinciding with the International Women’s Day, we want to highlight.
One of the stories that fascinates us the most is that of the team that runs the Money Market division at Federated Hermes. This is Deborah Cunningham (Chief Investment Officer, Global Liquidity Markets, Senior Portfolio Manager, Executive Vice President), Paige Wilhelm (Senior Vice President, Senior Portfolio Manager, Head of Prime Liquidity Group), Susan Hill (CFA, Senior Vice President, Senior Portfolio Manager, Head of Government Liquidity Group) y Mary Jo Ochson (CFA, Senior Vice President, Senior Portfolio Manager, Chief Investment Officer Head of the Tax-Free Liquidity Investment Area and Short-Term Municipal Bonds)
Their positions say it all. Federated Hermes is one of the first fund managers to create investment teams dedicated to cash management; That was 50 years ago; The team led by Cunnigham has prioritised, above all, that people have a culture of collaboration and mentoring for each other; These women have been working together for many years, but it is a large group of more than 30 professionals, where, below the position of senior vice-president, the gender split is 50/50, and with outstanding results;
In the transaction banking division of Bank of Americaone of the world’s largest banks, include, among many others; Laura FrancoHead of Corporate Treasury’s Western European sales division, and Andrea SullivanHead of the bank’s international ESG platform and member of the bank’s EMEA executive committee;
And in Spain, we also have some important leaders to highlight, such asAlmudena BeneditHead of Investment for Iberia at the Swiss private bankJulius Baerfounded in 1890, and currently one of the country’s leading financial groups with a significant presence in Spain; O Ana Queipo de LlanoHead of Wealth Planning for Iberia.
Beatriz Barros de Lis is another clear representation of women in the financial sector; Barros de Lis is now Head of Client Group Core America de AXA IM y vive en Nueva York desde donde lidera el equipo de distribución para el Área Américas, que comprende todo el continente.
En una de las mayores gestoras de activos del mundo, Natixis IM, Sophie del Campo is Managing Director for Spain, Portugal, Italy, Latin America and US Offshore; And, from London, Carmen Olds dirige los servicios de análisis de Natixis IM Solutions para España y América Latina.
La gestora de inversiones de Reino Unido, Jupiter AM, cuya seña de identidad es la libertad de inversión de los equipos de gestión, tiene a Susana García como directora de ventas para Iberia.
En Francia, la gestora La Financière de L’Échiquier que invierte en empresas cotizadas, cuenta con Coline Pavot as Global Head of SRI Investment Analysis, with a special focus on impact investing, sustainable investing and the role of women in SRI; In fact, she is the author of the paper referred to at the beginning of this post;
Global Social Impact Investment es la gestora española fundada en 2021 especializada en inversión de impacto con dos fondos de inversión claves en España y en África. María Ángeles León es su cofundadora y presidenta y ha llevado a la compañía a unos niveles de rentabilidad y compromiso muy destacados.
Por su parte, la gestora de activos independientes especializada en renta fija corporativa Muzinich & Co, tiene de co-responsable de Mercados Públicos a Tatjana Greil-CastroShe is also the head of the largest UCITS fund managed by a woman by assets; Tatjana is also a founding member of the Leveraged Finance Platform ELFA y está especializada en inversiones socialmente responsables y en política monetaria, siendo miembro de uno de los grupos de trabajo del BCE.
En el sector de las fintech destaca Tali Salomon, directora regional para Iberia y Latinoamérica de eTorosocial investment platform for multi-asset and social trading; Salomon is an expert in social investment through technology platforms, fintech innovation in trading, trends and retail investor preferences;
Just a sample;
They are not all there are, but they are all there are; The ones we bring here today are those who are currently with us at comma, but in our 25 years of business experience there are many women in the financial sector who have been and are fundamental in the development, growth and consolidation of their respective companies;
We are very proud to be able to give light to all these professionals, but we believe that there is still a long way to go; Giving visibility to these profiles and to their work is essential for the financial sector to face a profound transformation and to give the right recognition to the work carried out by women professionals beyond gender;
Happy 8M!
