by Liz O’Donnell (Boston)
The number one hiring request at fund management firms right now is for diverse candidates, says Karen Fenaroli, a recruiter who specializes in senior level jobs at asset management firms. It sounds encouraging, but is it really? Are the requests for diverse candidates a response to the growing body of literature and research that shows a strong correlation between women at the top and healthy bottom lines? Has Wall Street decided more women and people of color makes for better business? Or are human resource professionals merely mandating that their hiring managers simply follow the Equal Employment Opportunity Guidelines. As Fenaroli puts it, “Are they looking for an appropriate perspective of women in management or just checking off a scorecard?” The answer lies somewhere in the middle.
Clara Sierra is the Executive Vice President of mutual fund company Sentinel Investments, and one of the highest ranking people at the firm. She has an impressive resume having worked at AIG and Alliance Capital before joining Sentinel. She is also female, Hispanic and a mother.
“On paper I look like everyone else,” she says, “but in real life, I don’t look like anything in the room.” So when she got a call from a recruiter who told her she was the hottest ticket in town and not to worry what the job entailed, just know the position was “top echelon, corner office and they want a woman,” Sierra thought it was “bombastic.”
James Walsh, author of “Mastering Diversity: Managing for Success Under Anti-Discrimination Laws“, says hiring managers are looking first, for great people and second, not to get sued. “The key question is do you want a diverse payroll or do you want diverse people working for you? Is diversity something you look for in the individuals you hire?”
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Voice of Experience: Alison Sanger, Chief Operating Officer, Ironwood Capital Management
Voices of ExperienceThe last nine months have been the toughest of Alison Sanger’s career. As COO of Ironwood Capital Management, she has worked incredibly hard to help the firm navigate the choppy waters of the financial crisis. But Sanger had an additional challenge as she had her third child right in the middle of the chaos. “It was a kind of a crazy intersection of all things. I’m a ‘put one foot in front of the other’ kind of girl, so I think that, right now, I’m most proud of having survived and come out the other side.”
Sanger hails from a small town in Michigan, and majored in accounting at Miami University (Ohio). But when she first entered university, accounting seemed the least likely path she would take. “I tested out of all the English classes but into remedial math going into college. So how does someone like that end up in accounting? I’m really competitive and considered it a challenge. So I got to work and took a lot of math classes. And, as I took the classes, I realized I was good at them and enjoyed them. That, combined with the idea that I would be employable in a very slow job market, is what got me into accounting.”
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10 Tips for Managing Gen Y
Expert AnswersGeneration Y (also known as ‘The Millennial Generation’) are people born between the late 1970’s and early 1990’s, and represent the demographic cohort following Generation X. Chances are you have some in your department. They don’t have the same approach to work to that of their older colleagues. We offer up our top 10 tips for managing that population:
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Ask-A-Career-Coach: How Do I Talk About Being Laid Off In The Job Interview?
Ask A Career CoachWhile layoffs are more common and carry less stigma, it is still true that employers generally prefer employed candidates to unemployed. So you need to be truthful and acknowledge the layoff, but you don’t need to dwell on it. In fact, you want to move away from the topic quickly and refocus back on the positive aspects of your career. A good way to structure what you should talk about is to take your cues from the employed candidates:
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Diversity Hiring: An Asset for Asset Management?
Featured, Office PoliticsThe number one hiring request at fund management firms right now is for diverse candidates, says Karen Fenaroli, a recruiter who specializes in senior level jobs at asset management firms. It sounds encouraging, but is it really? Are the requests for diverse candidates a response to the growing body of literature and research that shows a strong correlation between women at the top and healthy bottom lines? Has Wall Street decided more women and people of color makes for better business? Or are human resource professionals merely mandating that their hiring managers simply follow the Equal Employment Opportunity Guidelines. As Fenaroli puts it, “Are they looking for an appropriate perspective of women in management or just checking off a scorecard?” The answer lies somewhere in the middle.
Clara Sierra is the Executive Vice President of mutual fund company Sentinel Investments, and one of the highest ranking people at the firm. She has an impressive resume having worked at AIG and Alliance Capital before joining Sentinel. She is also female, Hispanic and a mother.
“On paper I look like everyone else,” she says, “but in real life, I don’t look like anything in the room.” So when she got a call from a recruiter who told her she was the hottest ticket in town and not to worry what the job entailed, just know the position was “top echelon, corner office and they want a woman,” Sierra thought it was “bombastic.”
James Walsh, author of “Mastering Diversity: Managing for Success Under Anti-Discrimination Laws“, says hiring managers are looking first, for great people and second, not to get sued. “The key question is do you want a diverse payroll or do you want diverse people working for you? Is diversity something you look for in the individuals you hire?”
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Climate Change: The New Investment Frontier
Green is Goodby Elizabeth Harrin (London)
Fund managers are faced with a rack of new decisions, shaped by the climate change agenda: should we invest in ‘clean’ energies like wind power? If you know an organisation consumes a lot of carbon, does that make its market value less? On top of that, it’s a political hot potato, with the impending discussions at COP 15 (December’s climate change conference), and the Obama administration pushing ahead for a cap-and-trade scheme.
With the US carbon emission trading market set to be worth $1 trillion by 2020 investors can’t help but take notice. Companies are going to need to know exactly how much they are emitting. A whole industry has sprung up around green house gas emission calculations, with the aim of permitting allowances to be accurately traded with software like GreenCert, which has been produced as a joint effort by IBM, C-Lock Technology, Inc. and Enterprise Information Management.
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In Case You Missed It: Business News Round-up
NewsThe FDIC identified an increase in the number of problem banks. The Terra Firma seals its first US acquisition. Close Brothers are bidding for a private banking franchise. These are but a few highlights of important market events that we’ve gathered to help you start the week well informed.
Economic Backdrop
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Queen of the City: Pay Limits for Bankers? The Debate Rages On
Queen of the CityOn this side of the Pond, we found it a bit strange that, in the US, CEO and CFO pay at more than 100 banks on the TARP program did not decline in line with profits. In the City, there’s much dissatisfaction at guaranteed bonuses being waved at some lucky so-and-so’s by banks still owing millions to the government. Muttering taxpayers are saying “But it’s our darned dosh they’re throwing at these guys, not theirs.” The resentment among those who’ve lost jobs, bonuses and taken a big hit on their pension pots is running feverishly high.
It’s no wonder then that, this past March, the FSA, in an effort to align executive compensation with risk for bank boards and management, recommended that two-thirds of bonuses should be deferred, and that individual compensation awards should also reflect the overall performance of the business, rather than that person, team or division. More puzzling, however, is the Financial Services Authority’s recent pull back from the sterner draft suggestions.
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Green Jobs for Executive Women in Finance and the Fortune 500
Green is GoodEven as traditional jobs are being cut, “green” jobs are opening up, creating hot new career opportunities for executive women.
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35 Under 35: Gayle Tait, General Manager of UK and Ireland business, L’Oréal
35 Under 35For our ongoing series, London-based writer Elizabeth Harrin spoke with Gayle Tait, a 32-year-old executive woman from cosmetics giant L’Oreal, about her career path, her international placement in Paris, and her ascension to general manager of Ireland and the UK.
“Initially I was interested in joining [the company] because it is a sector that appealed me personally,” Tait explained. “I did an internship in the summer between my second and third year at university and it was following that experience that I wanted to join L’Oréal permanently. The people, their energy and their passion, and the fact that I had so much responsibility so early on in my career, were very appealing to me.”
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Confessions of a City Girl: Navigating the Testosterone-laden Financial Industry
ReviewsWhat does it mean to be a City Girl today? Can City Girls have it all? Barbara Stcherbatcheff (a.k.a. City Girl), who has worked in banking and derivatives in London for over five years, tackles these questiosn and more in her new book called “Confessions of a City Girl.”
TheGlassHammer.com has 10 signed copies of the book to give away. To win, simply join The Glass Hammer social network and post a comment or discussion. The ten members who’ve posted the most thought-provoking comments/discussions win a copy of the book. This competition ends Friday, so join today!
Women occupy a special place in the City of London. There aren’t many of us, but the successful ones have overcome exceptional odds.
I started my financial career bright-eyed, with a suitcase full of hopes. I was looking for fortune, freedom, and maybe even love. And amazingly, I found it all, but not without some challenges.
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