Underrepresentation of Female Advisers Persists

The lack of female representation in the financial advisement sector continues, and leaders must hold themselves responsible for creating an inclusive company culture, according to Carson Group’s “2023 State of Women in Wealth Management Report.”

The report released in November stated that the financial services industry has not made significant progress in gender diversity since the CFP Board first started tracking data a decade ago. Women made up 23.7% of CFP professionals in 2023. For comparison, the figure was 23.6% in 2022, 23.4% in 2021 and 23.3% in 2020, according to the CFP Board website.

However, male respondents’ concern about the lack of female representation has plummeted 23% year-over-year: In 2022, 91% of men agreed or strongly agreed the underrepresentation of female advisers is a problem that should be taken seriously by industry organizations, compared with just 68% this year. Women maintained similar levels of concern in Carson reporting, at 91% in 2022 and 92% in 2023.

“While it is heartening to hear that there is overall agreement about the importance of lack of representation, the divergence between male and female respondents is notable and troubling and points to the importance of continuing to make the case for change,” the report noted.

Male and female respondents also had different opinions about the statement “I have observed an increase in the representation of female financial advisers during my tenure in the industry.” This year, 73% of men said they agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, up from 71% in 2022. Meanwhile, 58% of women agreed or strongly agreed in 2023, down from 61% in 2022.

More than 90% of respondents indicated that corporate or firm culture is an important element affecting their level of satisfaction at work, though women were slightly more likely to agree (91%) than men (83%).

Inclusive culture “comes directly from the owner or CEO,” one respondent said. “It doesn’t have to be a woman. There are plenty of men that really get it and have designed firms that are conducive to women being successful. They’re not afraid to make the space for women, listen to them and take feedback.”

In addition, respondents said leaders should model positive behaviors to make their employees feel supported.

“Leaders need to create [an environment] that’s welcoming to women by not giving into locker room talk at sales meetings and things like that,” another respondent said. “If they hear people in the company talking that way, they need to stand up and say, ‘Hey, we don’t talk like that here. That’s not appropriate.’ Take a stand for it.”

The Carson Group’s findings were based on a survey of 276 financial professionals from different channels. Approximately 84% of the respondents were female, 14% were male and 1% preferred not to identify. The average age of respondents was 48, and respondents had been in the industry an average of 19 years.