And What Women Can Do About It

Since the 1950s, women have increasingly assumed the breadwinner role in the household, yet many of them still don’t seek out financial advice. Instead, they rely on friends and family.

Why? According to some women in the financial services business, it’s because banks, brokerages and other related firms don’t treat women with respect. “Wall Street is largely male-dominated, and much of the language we use about money is very ego-based and women don’t relate well to it,” says Hilary Martin, a financial advisor and strategist with San Jose, Calif.-based Family Wealth Consultants, Inc., a registered investment advisor. “Traditionally, women haven’t taken an active role in their investments and financial planning. That fact is changing, but the truth is that it is changing slowly.”

We talked to several women who work in the financial services industry as financial planners, advisors and asset managers about the biggest problems they’ve observed in some financial advisors’ treatment of women and how women can proactively address these issues
How Financial Advisors Mistreat Women