Exploring a Career in Investment Management
CFA Institute member societies inspire interest in the professionHow do you describe a career in finance or what it's like to be an investment management professional? What encouragement do you offer to inspire a young woman to pursue a finance major in college?
At a recent high-school career fair, volunteers from CFA Society Winnipeg, a member society in Canada, realized that students were interested in the wide variety of jobs available in the investment management industry, wanted to know more about the CFA® designation, and were curious about the difference between finance and accounting. The society members also determined there were very few resources available to offer to students who had these questions.
“We found many high school students are familiar with the accounting profession, but not a lot with the field of finance,” says Shaila Ekramoddoullah, CFA, past-president and member of the Board of Directors, CFA Society Winnipeg.
They are hoping to change that perspective.
The Society obtained project funding from CFA Institute to create a Women in Investment Management brochure directed to students at the high school level — especially female students. The brochure will explain what a career in finance can be, and will also include interviews with, and profiles of local women CFA® charterholders.
The Society also found that the gender diversity of local CFA® Program candidates and the finance programs at two universities in the region is skewed in favor of men.
This was the incentive to target high school students. “High school students are not too young to start seeking clarity on their professional careers,” adds Ekramoddoullah. "Most high school students are not aware of the finance profession, unless they have a family member or friend in the industry.”
The hope is that increasing the percentage of women finance students at the university level will, in turn, help to increase the number of women participating in the CFA® Program. Eventually this will help close the overall diversity gap in the investment management industry.