Guerra is also evidence of the urgency the CFP board feels around bringing more youth into the profession-- Keller notes that the number of CFP professionals over the age of 70 exceeds the number of those under 30.

Women -- and young people in general -- are likely less aware than men and their elders of financial planning careers, and may harbor negative opinions of the financial industry in general.

“Ten years ago, we weren’t having these discussions,” says Keller. “There may have been some talk of diversity, or encouraging young people to become planners, but they weren’t topics that were seriously addressed. Now these are issues that our Board cares very much about, and we’re spending a lot of our time thinking about ways to address this issue.”

Keller says the CFP Board is continuing to ramp up its efforts to improve the pipeline from universities into financial advising, and to increase overall awareness around the CFP certification.

The recently launched CFP Board Center for Financial Planning was designed to focus the Board’s work around diversity and linking the industry with serious academic research. One of the Center’s first efforts was a mentoring program for female CFPs.

The Center’s efforts have also focused on the college level, encouraging schools to launch their own financial planning programs.

“We sit at the intersection of 240 universities and colleges and all of the firms that are hiring planners,” Keller says. “We’re not the gatekeeper, but we are the entry way, the door that people have to pass through to become members of the financial planning professions.”

The CFP Board Center for Financial Planning recently hosted an online job fair to connect financial planning students with CFP professionals, and a newly launched forum to assist CFP certification test takers has 60,000 registered users and 3,000 certification-seekers actively engaged in its discussions.

Yet the Board’s efforts don’t yet extend to students younger than college age who are often faced with making pre-college decisions that will impact their eventual course of study.

“Women and minorities especially are unaware of this career and what it takes to become a successful financial planner,” says Guerra. “I really think it stems from lack of mentorship, a lack of role models and insufficient professional development efforts throughout this industry. If firms can step up and do their part, more young people will understand how great this career can be.”