There is still “a long way to go” to make the advice profession a truly inclusive one for women, according to Yasmina Siadatan, chief revenue officer at Dynamic Planner.
Speaking on the FT Adviser podcast, Siadatan alongside Katherine Waller, co-founder of wealth management firm SixDegrees, discussed their experiences of working in the industry in honour of International Women’s Day next week (March 8).
The guests also looked at how the advice space can attract more female advisers.
Waller said, since she first started in the industry, she has seen diversity of thought being appreciated a lot more.
She said: “If you go back to 2005 when I started, diversity of thought wasn’t a phrase that was thought about or used in the way it is today.
“It’s great to see the industry value the differences in thought between men and women, and people from diverse backgrounds, because this broadens the different conversations we can have with clients.”
While Siadatan agreed she had seen a shift in the welcoming of diversity of thought, she pointed out the statistics still show the advice industry is male dominated.
“The statistics still remain, the propensity of female advisers compared to male hasn’t actually shifted in all those years since I have been in the industry. The number of female advisers remains low so there is still a long way to go,” she added.
Waller said to get more women and younger people into the advice industry the sector needed to be more transparent of the different types of jobs available within it.
She said: “When I talk to graduates who are looking for a job, they look at finance as a whole rather than advice specifically and by virtue of that, it is difficult for those graduates to know which bit of advice they would enjoy and what they would be good at.
“As a starting point it's about being more transparent about the jobs that are available and being explicit that relationship management and advice is something everybody can be good at.”
Siadatan said through her work at Dynamic Planner she has seen advisers across the UK using a “plethora” of methods to recruit young diverse talent into the industry.
“It’s really refreshing to see these methods being used by advisers across the UK to grow their businesses. Many are reaching out to universities and are coaching graduates and many have their own academies, so seeing that outreach from the community is really positive” she added.
To hear more about how the advice community can strive to be more inclusive towards women and how to get more of them engaging with their finances, click the image above.
alina.khan@ft.com