Why more women should seek careers as financial advisors

Looking around, I could see other individuals and families going through a similar experience, although in varying stages of life. I saw people sitting with spouses on life support, parents waiting for good news about children, all of them united by their shared grief, hope and uncertainty about the future.

But they also had very specific decisions to make and issues to quickly understand, such as power of attorney, end-of-life choices, and simply how to move forward both emotionally and financially after the loss of a parent or financial provider. I also noted families that were going to be in dire straits given their new realities of death or disability. 

The desire to assist people in preparing for these situations ultimately helped lead me to a career in financial services. However, while I was able to find my path into the industry, many women decide against pursuing a career in it.

The advisor gender imbalance

In Canada, women account for less than 20% of financial advisors. The reasons for this lack of women in finance are both disappointing and predictable: a combination of outdated societal norms, few mentorship opportunities, and persistent gender and systemic bias.

These numbers also represent an improvement on where they were a couple of decades ago, and I applaud recent efforts by firms to improve support systems and address the cultural norms and biases that have sadly persisted. But there is clearly still a mountain to climb.

To me, financial services, and particularly the role of a financial advisor, has always embodied traits that I think most people would say women tend to possess in substantial amounts: compassion, empathy, and the desire to help people.

Those were the traits that were needed to help the people in the intensive care unit back when I was 21. Those people needed someone to help them prepare them for the difficult day that may never come, but did for them.

Despite—or perhaps because of—the skewed gender imbalance in the industry, I believe that now is an ideal time for women to pursue careers in wealth management.

There are obvious reasons, such as the potential for financial reward, the independence to structure your own practice, the opportunity for a flexible work-life balance, and the chance to put your IQ to work. 

Helping to answer the big question

But there’s also the opportunity to put your EQ—or emotional intelligence—to work. This is particularly the case now, as we’ve seen the industry start to move away from a focus on selling investment products toward more holistic financial planning. This approach puts a high value on relationship building, intuition and empathy. 

Personally, my view on the role of a financial advisor is that you’re trying to help people answer the question that everyone has somewhere in the back of their mind: Am I going to be okay?

While the answer may not be yes for everyone, an advisor can help you put a plan in place to get there. The plan should prioritize the client’s values, priorities, and what’s important to them.

One other aspect of why it’s a good time for more women in financial advisory roles goes back to the gender imbalance. 

Women control an ever-increasing share of financial assets and will soon control 50% of assets. Additionally, research shows most women prefer to work with women advisors or with advisory teams that have at least one woman on them. This points to a rapidly growing base of clients who are eager to work with women advisors.

There’s also opportunity in a significant demographic shift set to hit the wealth industry, as some 37% of financial advisors managing more than $10 trillion in assets are expected to retire over the next decade. This should result in a substantial number of financial advisor career opportunities.

I'll be the first to say it’s not an easy profession. Running your own advisory also comes with a significant commitment that many entrepreneurs experience. There’s a lot of work upfront, with the hope that this will smooth out over time. There may be less compensation initially while building the business, with the expectation that compensation will increase as the business grows. 

But the greater reward is knowing that you’re putting your entire skill set toward the goal of preparing people for significant and unexpected life events and helping them be okay.

There’s an incredible opportunity for women who are willing to look past the lingering stereotypes and perceptions about the wealth management industry. I hope more women at all career stages will consider exploring roles that can benefit them, the industry, and the clients who need sound advice.