Knowledge inspires confidence. Mentors can provide a voice in our schools and culture at large that encourages women to develop strong mathematical skills, technical competencies and awareness about financial planning. They can also help educate girls and young women in the art of financial planning and applications of mathematics by sponsoring workshops and financial planning career days. By helping the next generation of women understand money and math and finance and business, mentors can empower them to move confidently into the world of financial planning.
7. Advocating for our industry
Mentors are advocates, and established female advisors participating in mentoring relationships are advocating both for women and the future of our industry. Everybody agrees that we need more female advisors to accommodate the growing number of women investors. Mentoring allows us to address that need by increasing the visibility of female financial planning professionals.
Women mentors can advocate for aspiring female advisors in our industry by developing and leading mentoring networks, supporting companies subsidizing apprenticeships, and encouraging women to take positions in firms with subsidized entrance costs. They can also establish their presence as a viable voice within the industry through social media, online and in-person forums, community and professional events, and by positioning themselves as thought leaders within the industry through publishing and public speaking.
Through WIN, the CFP Board Center for Financial Planning is encouraging firms to create a more welcoming profession for women, including promoting woman-to-woman mentoring as part of its solution to the industry’s “feminine famine.” As a mentor, I’ve seen the impact women-to-women mentoring is having on women pursuing careers in the financial planning field. We are establishing a female presence within the industry and are actively engaging a new generation of female advisors.
Marguerita Cheng, CFP, is CFP Board ambassador and CEO of Blue Ocean Global Wealth.