Are You Ready to Invest in Women?

By Kathleen McQuiggan, Senior Vice President of Global Women's Strategies for Pax World Management LLC and Managing Director of Pax Ellevate Management LLC 

Imagine walking into your first Wall Street job, fresh out of college, ready to take on the world. That was me twenty-five years ago when I boldly entered the world of finance as a sales assistant for two institutional brokers. At the time I knew nothing about investing or client service, but I knew that it was a fantastic opportunity to learn and it was an environment in which I could thrive – so I was all in. 

While the markets fluctuated (often wildly) throughout my career, one thing remained constant – the staggering lack of gender diversity in the financial services industry. A typical day consisted of me and a group of men on the trading floor, or in the IPO roadshow meeting, or presenting to an investment committee. I became accustomed to being the only woman in the room. 

Over time, I saw the injustice being done to women in financial services firms – and I wanted things to change. So whether it was getting more women into senior leadership, or encouraging more women to pursue careers in finance, or working with more women investors to make investment decisions, my professional mission became all about more.

In 2009, I pivoted my career and began to focus solely on investing in women. Today I can say with confidence that the work our team at Pax World (www.paxworld.com) is doing to invest in women is the most important thing I have been involved with – professionally and personally – in my career. 

Why Invest in Women?

Research shows that women bring positive benefits to the bottom line, including improved operational and financial performance, increased innovation, better problem solving, stimulated group performance, and enhanced company reputation. As Pax World CEO Joe Keefe often says, “When women are at the table the discussion is richer, the decision-making process is better, management is more innovative and collaborative and the organization is stronger.” In my view, we are at a point in time where the conversation is shifting from “Why invest in women?” to “Why would you not invest in women?”

Here is How Business Excutives, Investors and Financial Advisors Can Invest in Women...

Find the answers by reading Kathleen's complete article including Article footnotes and more at this direct link on the GreenMoney website at- http://bit.ly/1q8k8RX