Success and satisfaction of women in financial planning

Abstract

There has been much discussion, research, and initiatives related to building the financial planning profession by attracting and retaining talented financial planners. Surveys have shown that many view financial planning as primarily a profession of white males. There is no evidence that women lack the skills or traits necessary to be successful financial planners, yet for more than a decade, gender diversity has been a challenge. Previous research has found evidence of sexism in financial planning, which includes significantly lower compensation for women and different treatment of women by their fellow planners and employers. We surveyed 224 experienced professional financial planners to analyze their feelings of satisfaction and success and how these feelings related to their gender, size of practice, education, personality traits, age, and years of experience. The women in our sample were equivalent or better than men with regard to education, experience, personality (the Big Five personality traits), and certified financial planner (CFP®) certification. However, we found that professional career satisfaction was surprisingly higher for women if they worked for a solo practice rather than for a large firm where they felt significantly more successful.