Award aims to get more women in capital markets

To counteract proportionally low levels of women being promoted, a new industry initiative will offer career coaching and development services to qualified senior-level women working in the capital markets in Canada. The Women in Capital Markets (WCM) Career Coaching Award Program, developed with BMO Nesbitt Burns and Knightsbridge, will offer experienced women the opportunity to develop executive skills and enhance their likelihood for promotion, says Maureen Stapleton, president of WCM.

“The reality we face in the capital markets industry is that we have difficulty retaining experienced women. In fact, the number of women in the executive ranks is declining,” Stapleton says.

The program is available only to applicants who have a minimum 10 years of experience and who have already achieved significant success in their careers. It will provide six months of free individual career coaching with Knightsbridge, a human capital management consulting firm.

According to Jacqueline Szeto, a past president of WCM who has been working in the industry for 15 years, giving the award to women who have already proven themselves in the industry for some time is deliberate, because the industry has been successful in recruiting top women but unsuccessful in retaining and promoting them.

Women hold only about 20% of what Szeto refers to as the “front line” jobs, which are the jobs that actually bring in revenue for the firms. The majority of women find themselves working in back-office or support roles.

“There’s been a whole shift. Before, we didn’t have enough women in the industry, but now we do, but they are all concentrated at the entry level,” Szeto says. “We do a great job of hiring them into the industry but the problem right now is the promotion and retention of the women. There is a big gap between the senior and entry levels.”

Szeto says not having more women in the upper echelons creates a vicious cycle because there are fewer women to act as mentors and role models who can show others how they navigate the unique challenges faced by woman, such as how to effectively balance the demands of family and a very competitive work environment.

The WCM does have mentor programs and hosts seminars that try to help women tackle some of these issues, but Szeto says until now they were unable to offer this level of professional coaching, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars per person.

“Having an experienced professional coach has been proven to help women plan their careers and compete for senior roles,” she says.

BMO Nesbitt Burns agrees, which is why it is sponsoring the program, says the company’s chief operating officer, Charyl Galpin.

“It is clear we must make every effort to ensure that competent and talented women get a fair chance to reach the top rungs of the corporate ladder. Even in the most progressive organizations, the continual promotion of women must remain a priority. We know this can’t be accomplished single-handedly — that’s why this program is so important,” Galpin says. “This unique award is especially important to BMO Nesbitt Burns — we are committed to being a leader in diversity and workplace equity, and we firmly stand behind the advancement of women in the Canadian financial services industry.”

To be eligible for the award, candidates must be currently employed in the Canadian capital markets, which includes those who work in the issuing, buying, selling or trading of securities, currencies and derivatives.

Full eligibility requirements and more information can be found at www.wcm.ca.

Filed by Mark Noble, Advisor.ca, mark.noble@advisor.rogers.com

(02/22/08)