CFA Institute ‏mentioned this article in a tweet: "How to attract more women to #wealthmanagement? @therudingroup and @cherylnash2 http://cfa.is/1sK09Kv #cfawomen" - @CFAinstitute

The largest power is the hiring managers and often the Portfolio Managers on a specific team. Due to the historical majority of Portfolio Managers being male, this trend of male dominancy in this industry will likely stay strong for a long time to come. Women finance professionals have been working extremely hard over the past 20 years, at a minimum, to push the envelop and drive the engine to obtain roles and support other women getting roles in Wealth Management and Finance.

The trend that I've noticed is that smart, qualified women are often provided with the opportunity to get "administrative" positions. These positions are like a ticket to get to the carrot at the end of a stick. You pray that if you do all the right things, say all the right things, with a side of pursuing a CFA designation (or some other form of education), you may eventually get to that next level of becoming an analyst or associate portfolio manager. Unfortunately, after time spent in this role, with plenty of overtime hours that you will never be compensated for, you realize that your means to an end is seen as an end by the generous portfolio manager who has helped you get this far.

I will not ramble on this topic. My issue is - women need to get in AND get the opportunity to climb to respectable roles. Why should one candidate (male) be rewarded with opportunities to move into analyst or associate manager roles, when another candidate (female) continues to sit idle in an assistant or low-level associate role. It's not about the candidate asking the right questions. It's about taking responsibility in a senior (manager) role to mentor and give challenging roles to females. These females were likely in the same undergraduate-level courses as the males. These females deserve the same amount of respect and the same level of career prospects as their counterparts.

If this is a program aimed at getting the right jobs and career trajectories for women - good on you.