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Yellow Brick Road’s Women in Finance has celebrated its one year anniversary in conjunction with International Women’s Day on Wednesday.
According to PricewaterhouseCoopers research, women working in financial services globally hold only 19 per cent of senior level jobs, 14 per cent of board seats and a mere 2 per cent of CEO roles.
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At Yellow Brick Road, the percentage of female advisors stands at 31 per cent, which the group says is higher than typical in the industry and continues to grow.
In its first year, YBR’s Women in Finance has sought to promote the financial services industry among women and empower them to consider financial services as a career. The group’s regular events programme enables like-minded women to come together and share their inspirational stories and ideas, helping to future-proof their success in what is a competitive industry.
The group has also raised money for charities, including at a fundraising event hosted by Macquarie Bank in November 2016 to support White Ribbon Day. The event brought together around 80 women working in various facets of the finance sector to hear a panel of high profile speakers discuss gender diversity in the finance industry, domestic and family abuse, and the role workplaces play in supporting and driving change.
“We launched the Women in Finance initiative to get more women into finance. With an executive committee comprised entirely of women who manage their own Yellow Brick Road branches, we are putting the spotlight on local representatives that are turning the tide on this gender-based misrepresentation,” said Effie Nicol, principal at YBR Earlwood and president of YBR’s Women in Finance group.
“If we can become a place where anyone can find a female financial adviser, then everyone else can too. It's time to do away with the status quo and make sure there is an equal playing field for men and women to comfortably access financial advice.”
YBR executive chairman Mark Bouris, who features regularly as keynote speaker at YBR’s Women in Finance events, said some of the company’s strongest performing branches are led by women.
“We’ve learnt that women feel more comfortable seeking advice from other women they can relate to. Women also tend to have greater empathy skills and a greater ability to connect with customers, making them excellent advisors and brokers,” Mr Bouris said.
“The industry is at risk of underperforming, and customers are at a risk of being underserved, unless more is done to promote women in finance.”
[Related: Bouris sees the next evolution of mortgage broking]
