Many financial services firms are committed to increasing diversity across their organizations , in particular by fostering more opportunities for women . The Financial Women ’ s Association ( FWA ), which marks its 60th anniversary in 2016 , aims to accelerate the leadership and success of women across the financial community and in all sectors of the industry , by fostering alliances and preparing the current and next generation of professionals . The FWA is a forum for Wall Street women to network and advance their individual careers , and it offers its members leadership opportunities and the chance to mentor and share their experiences and best practices with young women and students .
To fully appreciate what eight enterprising women achieved when they launched the FWA , it is important to remember the historical and cultural context six decades ago . In 1956 , the Dow Jones Industrial Average marked a new high , reaching the 500s ; Dwight D . Eisenhower was President of the United States ; and the first transatlantic telephone cable , from Newfoundland to Scotland , went into operation .
In the midst of this progress , the founders of the FWA , having been denied admission to the Young Men ’ s Investment Association , decided to form the Young Women ’ s Investment Association ( now the FWA ) as a forum to share their experiences and advance their knowledge and careers .
The founding members were primarily security analysts , which was the first professional role open to women on Wall Street . Soon the organization grew to include female bankers , brokers , traders , management consultants , financial analysts , portfolio managers , economists , lawyers and more . The one surviving founder , Joan Williams Farr , remains fully supportive of the organization .
As Wall Street has evolved and endured through multiple recessions , major changes in the industry and seismic advances in the role and importance of technology , the
Early photograph of Joan Williams Farr , a founder of the FWA , who remains actively involved in the organization .
FWA has evolved as well . Through the decades , the FWA expanded its membership by , among other things , opening membership to men to allow everyone the benefits of sharing best practices and lessons learned .
The organization that served as a beacon for the few women on Wall Street in the 1950s continued through the 1960s as a forum for building on shared experiences , while expanding its scope to bring outside speakers to help members hone their craft and advance the profession . The mission broadened even further in the 1970s , as the FWA committed to supporting the next generation through scholarships and mentoring .
“ One striking strength of the FWA was its ability to provide its members with not only some of the resources necessary to learn to maneuver on Wall Street , but also to provide a female space for the women to meet one another and build important ties and friendships with one another .”
— Dr . Melissa S . Fisher , Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis at NYU , and author of Wall Street Women
Today , the FWA ’ s initiatives are even more multi-faceted , with more than 50 programs hosted annually . It has awarded more than 150 scholarships and has taught financial skills to nearly 3,000 high school students . It has also provided professional development and mentorship opportunities to thousands of students and young professionals .
Through its outside speaker programs , members and guests have benefited by hearing from and engaging with industry leaders , including Jamie Dimon and Marianne Lake of JPMorgan Chase ; Steven Kandarian and Marlene Debel of MetLife ; and the late Muriel (“ Mickie ”) Siebert , the first woman NYSE member , who was also an FWA member , supporter and FWA 1994 Private Sector Woman of the Year .
The FWA has also been in the forefront of sending delegations around the world . It was one of the first US groups to visit China in 1977 ; the delegation of 25 women led the way for an international conference program that continues to this day . Other notable FWA international conferences have included a delegation to South Africa following the fall of apartheid in 1996 , Costa Rica in 2010 with new green and microfinancing options and Germany in 2014 , 25 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall . Over the years , FWA International Delegation participants have met with sitting presidents , royalty and business leaders in nearly 30 countries and on six continents , some with returning delegations and follow-up meetings and dialogues on best practices .
Of course , none of this happened overnight . In her book Wall Street Women ( Duke University Press , 2012 ), Dr . Melissa S . Fisher chronicles the stories of FWA members and other trailblazers , and notes that :
It has become a common understanding that women in the corporate world , particularly during the seventies , were lone pioneers , token women . There were , in fact , very few professional women in each firm at that time : there
www . MoAF . org | Spring 2016 | FINANCIAL HISTORY 35