April 2024

Celebrating the Women of Washington DC

By Christine Lee, Liquidnet

2024 STA WIF Vice Chair

Thank you to all who attended our Washington DC Spring Update earlier this month! Hosted in person for the first time since its 2020 debut, we were thrilled to welcome our sponsors along with legislative and business speakers who offered valuable insight on the latest in markets and regulation.

On behalf of STA and our Women in Finance Committee, we'd like to extend a special recognition to the women who contributed to our Washington DC Spring Update and who shared their unique perspectives with our attendees in their respective areas of expertise:

• Stephanie Dumont, Executive Vice President, FINRA
• Mahlet Makonnen, Principal, Williams & Jensen
• Nicole Pursley, Director of Public Policy, Cboe Global Markets
• Kirsten Wegner, CEO, Modern Markets Initiative

At STA, we aim to serve as a bridge between our robust and liquid markets and our leaders in Washington DC. This, of course, could not be accomplished without the contributions of the women on our STA Board, as well as the many women who play critical roles in the regulatory ecosystem. To name just a few, we've had the privilege of working with leaders such as SEC Commissioners Hester Peirce and Caroline Crenshaw, Subcommittee on Capital Markets Chair Rep. Ann Wagner, Rep. Brittany Pettersen of the House Financial Services Committee, and many more.

From a sheer numbers perspective, inequality persists throughout our industry. We applaud these women, as well as those among our broader membership, for their willingness to set an example and share their knowledge, lifting up other women along the way. Our WIF Committee, and STA as a whole, wouldn't be where it is today without the influence of the many women in Washington DC who serve with the best interests of our markets in mind.

STA Women in Finance's "Changing the Face of Financial Services" interview series is back! We're thrilled to continue these profiles and share insights and accomplishments from women in our industry.

Check out the first installment of 2024, featuring Lesley Kelly, Head Trader and Partner at Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners. Lesley shared her inspiring career path as a U.S. Army veteran, why she felt inspired to enter the financial industry, and much more.

Women in Finance Events

Congrats to STANY, led by CEO Kim Unger, on a successful 88th Annual Conference at the New York Stock Exchange earlier this week, kicking off the day with a Women in Finance Breakfast featuring senior women in our industry.

Articles of Interest

Women in UK Finance Earn a Third Less Than Male Colleagues, Data Shows

Reuters

Some of Britain's top financial firms pay women 28.8% less on average than male counterparts, salary data from 21 companies reviewed by Reuters shows, even though they say they are striving to hire more females for higher-paid, senior roles. Banks, asset managers and insurers across the UK have committed to narrowing long-standing gender pay gaps, which they largely attribute to there being more men in top jobs that come with generous bonuses, while a greater proportion of women are in lower-paid, part-time or junior jobs, with smaller bonuses or none at all. Read here

For Women Who Stay Single, the Pressure Is Higher to Save More for Retirement

Yahoo! Finance

In 2022, there were 43.5 million single adult women in the US, up from 37 million a decade earlier, according to the most recent figures from the US Census Bureau. That’s the highest level ever — and for many of them, like James, the risk of running out of money in retirement is a serious concern. Read here



How Americans See the State of Gender and Leadership in Business

Pew Research Center

Women now account for record shares of Fortune 500 chief executives and board members in the United States – 10.6% and 30.4%, respectively. Still, the share of women in top business leadership positions remains well below their share of the population. A majority of Americans (55%) say there are too few women in top executive business positions, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. This is down somewhat from 59% who said this in 2018. Read here

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