Tag Archive for: the glass hammer

On Changes After 15 Years: Nicki Gilmour: CEO And Founder, The Glass Hammer

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Nicki Gilmour The Glass HammerThe Glass Hammer was founded fifteen years ago (July, 2007) with the distinct intent of helping professional women – especially within financial services, law, technology, Fortune 500 – understand how to navigate their careers with the ultimate goal of advancing. The mission was to inform (provide expert career advice), empower (by bringing women together with events and networking), and inspire (by profiling women who have blazed the path and broken through the glass ceiling in some form). We sit down with Nicki Gilmour to discuss where things stand now as we celebrate this milestone of the longest running career advice publication for professional women.

Q: How have things developed since The Glass Hammer launched?

The world has changed significantly across these past fifteen years. But the pandemic has created the most seismic shift in how people work, how people want to work and how people live. Many people, women in particular, found themselves suddenly dropped into a very different reality as of March 2020 that included swapping the commute and the long office days for long days in front the computer and longer days in some cases homeschooling kids and sanitizing everything.

Perhaps one silver lining of the pandemic, if you can call it that when there was such sorrow and stress for so many, was the chance for all of us to understand that the future of work could happen more quickly than we realized was possible. We saw how we could switch to Zoom, Teams, Webex, Google Meet and other platforms to conduct conversations and share documents. And guess what? We still managed to do business – despite the constraints and challenges, both for individuals and organizations. ‘The future is now’ comes to mind as it is no longer a theory to work remotely as it pertains to equal or increased productivity.

Beyond the practical logistics of work, people also started to really look more deeply at their personal values. When your back is against the wall, it’s time to ask: what really matters here?

Q: What has changed for professional women in the past 15 years?

So much and yet nothing has changed for professional women.

I think the greatest thing that has changed is that people want to see their leaders show more empathy than before and that success and professionalism, as definitions, have become wider and more diverse.

Ambition remains a very personal trait that is present, to a lesser or greater degree in all people as they are individuals with personalities, specific belief and value sets and varying needs and experiences. Many ambitious women still envision a linear path to the top. But I believe that having been through the pandemic and the shift in many realities, people also understand more than ever that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. I can’t speak for any other human except myself, but I do see, observationally, as an executive coach and Organizational Development consultant, that generally people are tired of accepting the legacy status quo as the only way forward in terms of what dictates how we work and when we work as well as where we work.

With the ‘Great Resignation,’ some people have literally voted with their feet and walked out of very well-paid jobs including Sheryl Sandberg who left Meta recently. Sheryl, as we know, was the author of Lean In. Well, she’s decided to lean out. I think that says a lot. I believe this was an era of ‘celebritizing’ a handful of women and it continues as VC’s are still backing firms that do close to zero for women on a structural change level and continue to implicitly tell women to just network.

Certainly people, and some companies, have also finally decided to stop tolerating the same biases based on gender, but there is still a lack of transparency around pay equality. Just recently, Google has paid out $118 million in settlement to 15,000 women in a class-action lawsuit about gender pay discrimination. I would hope there comes a day when equality is built through solid processes and good human behaviors not litigation – however, as it seems law suits are still the most effective method, that comes at great cost to the women who bring them.

I definitely see a theme where things, that we didn’t contest in the past, are more explicit and more accessible to contest at least. We are asking companies to walk the talk on equality and meritocracy. That starts and ends with transparency. There still isn’t a consistent pathway to get to the mystery of what you’re being paid and why, depending on who you are from a biology or ethnicity perspective, as pay is not really assigned strictly on merit, experience or even qualifications in most companies.

I have spent the past few years contemplating whether breaking the glass ceiling is a redundant concept for younger professionals in the sense that people don’t want to be on the other side of that glass if the traits it takes to be successful there means assimilating to something that just doesn’t resonate at all. When what’s been holding everything up is the structural walls of rules that clearly don’t favor meritocracy, due to flawed cognitive and social constructs around who gets to lead, is the work that is needed to be centered differently? A new way of looking at this? I am not sure the work is as evolutionary in the linear sense that we all once believed it was.

Q: Say more about how you are approaching the big questions, now.

I think futurism is key now in terms of understanding what can be, as well as what has been, or what is. I think that it’s a time of considering a deeper structural review instead of incremental bricks on the old crumbling foundations. Saying that, there are 41 female CEOs in the Fortune 500 right now, or 8.2 percent, which is a record high. I do not want to dismiss the fact that incremental change is happening, but it isn’t enough in terms of impact for anyone to truly celebrate progress with any sincerity, as if this was a product it would be shelved due to slow adoption in the marketplace. The big question is, are we happy with very gradual, incremental change? And how long will it take for equality to happen? Especially when we take huge hits like the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Title IX and other various cultural backslides that hamper women from an equal existence generally, as well as specifically.

Academically, this is going back to Virginia Schein’s (et al) “Think Manager – Think Male,” which began over 40 years ago. Without knowing the human involved, people in aggregate still vote for the straight male manager as the most leader-like with real traits like productivity, competence and assertiveness. Conversely, they continually mark in the traits survey that women are less competent, productive, and assertive even though there is not a specific woman being assessed, just generally as a cognitive concept of a female manager, which is very disheartening and often the respondents are also women. This remains in play in a very real way in a workplace near you! Never underestimate the power of the cultural wallpaper and what it can do in terms of unchecked internalized misogyny.

Q: Systemically, what cracks are we seeing more clearly than ever, especially now?

It goes back to promises not kept – transparency of pay, transparency of promotional track. The entire system has never been truly re-envisioned to integrate women’s lives or value our spherical lives as a whole. There’s also the blunt fact that organizations still ignore life outside the skyscraper. It has been well-documented that women do the second shift at home and do something like 10 extra hours of housework and childcare relative to their male counterparts. And that’s not just something that occurs in heterosexual relationships. It also shows up in LGBTQ+ families, because someone has to pick up the slack. But systemically and culturally, it has always been a majority of women that do that, while expected to be superwoman at work. Kudos to the men who do it as they rarely get recognized and should be, also.

“There’s been various research studies on remote work showing that many working mothers find it quite beneficial to work remotely because, productivity-wise, it’s helpful to not commute a couple of hours a day. We should be moving to results-oriented work, because professionals know what they have to deliver. We no longer need to wear pinstripe suits, ride a train and be in an office 9-5. We have to get away from this model that was designed last century. LinkedIn is redefining what it means to be “professional,” and it’s no longer being a white man going to the office in a three-piece suit with a briefcase.

“The office is now in your head and on your computer, and the cries to get back to the office are not necessarily based in productivity claims. For organizations and leaders to ignore that employees are actually telling you what they want and to ignore the data around productivity is just basing in (disproportionately white and white male) preferences. Many people can’t understand why they’re at the mercy of their manager’s choice. And now people, who would otherwise continue to work remotely, are worrying about falling on the wrong side of proximity bias. Just as paternity leave and full maternity leave are still underutilized because the hidden penalties and state-by-state and company-by-company inconsistencies do not always support people to feel it’s in their best interest. Often women are torn about how much time they can take for maternity leave in the pressure of 24/7 work with many exhausted and typing emails close to the birthing event. I know I was writing emails right up until the delivery room as that was a badge of honor that I just don’t believe Gen Y and beyond buy into on any level.

Q: So what can organizations who want to lean in, and walk the talk, do right now?

Organizations have a place to play in this because within their sphere of influence, inside and outside of their ‘virtual’ four walls, they can create a microcosm of equality – and it’s not that hard to achieve. It comes from:

  • Being clear in your mission and strategy around DEI aspects, and other aspects such as social responsibility, just as you would decide what you’re going to do with your core product. It’s as simple as that.
  • Make your management practices transparent, clear and consistent – so everyone knows what they have to do, what flies and what doesn’t. Make sure there are explicit norms as opposed to implicit norms that are subjective.
  • Surface anything that is a covert process – meaning: in denial, not on the table for discussion, for whatever reason.
  • Make sure everybody knows their role, their responsibilities, what’s expected of them, what are their goals, and ensure their responsibilities are aligned with their ability to execute on them. Make sure their skills and abilities match the job requirements.
  • Remove as much organizational grind as you can: the barriers, hindrances, obstacles to doing the job the way that people see fit, the way each person sees fit as a professional.
  • Understand individual needs and values, beyond grouping people together based on social identities such as gender, nationality, sexual orientation, or otherwise.
  • Help your people understand what success looks like. Let them know what it means to be doing a good job here.
  • Make sure people know which direction the company is going, what the company values and what are overarching goals, and that can include societal topics: because social issues have never been more integrated into corporate life than they have been in the past two years. To leave things unaddressed is a recipe for disaster. Silence is complicit and colluding.
  • Finally, make sure that when you talk the talk, you walk the talk. Ensure that you are creating actions to meet your espoused values, behaviorally. This means coaching leaders of all genders and creeds to understand how to create and implement positive change for all employees to be engaged and performing in a high but healthy way.

It’s not actually impossible or unreachable – and this is the work that has to take place as opposed to telling women to lean in, keep their head down, and keep at it. Because the last fifteen years has shown us that change has been present, but slow.

Thank you all for your continued presence and readership. We wish you a safe, healthy, enjoyable summer season.

Interviewed by Aimee Hansen

*After this week, The Glass Hammer will be taking a publishing break until September. Enjoy your summer as we are walking the talk on our values and focusing on coaching leaders and developing organizations to connect to the human factor better via our sister site evolvedpeople.com. Enjoy our 8,000+ articles and we will be back in the early Fall.

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Jessica Titlebaum Darmoni: Senior Manager, Head of Marketing, ErisX

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“You should always ask for more when you’re talking about salary,” advises Jessica Titlebaum Darmoni. “You want to demonstrate that you are willing to negotiate for the best rate, for yourself and for them.”

Darmoni speaks to self-educating herself on derivatives, the value of finding your culture match and why asking for more is an astute move.

From Creative Writing to Listed Derivatives to Crypto

Darmoni is a true self-taught financial professional.

After graduating from the University of Maryland with an English-Creative Writing degree, and a backpacking tour of Southeast Asia, she entered into the niche market of listed derivatives. Her CV was picked up online for a marketing role at a technology consulting company. Without knowing much about derivatives or having any industry connections, Darmoni found herself inside an exclusive corner of finance.

At that time, she began reading an industry newsletter published by a journalist/broker John Lothian to learn more about the listed derivatives space. After asking for an internship and working part time for John Lothian News, she went on to become the Head of Sales. Concurrently, thanks to a lot of networking for her role, she was also writing and interviewing for theglasshammer.com from near its inception and for over a decade. She credits a lot of what she has learned to John Lothian as well as The Glass Hammer founder Nicki Gilmour.

She continued to read the Financial Times, thanks to a three year gifted subscription, and has now read the analog paper for sixteen years on a daily basis. She also went back to school for a Masters in Journalism and grew her network in the derivatives space. One of her mentors Karen Wuertz gave her a career-changing piece of advice: get involved with an industry activity.

In 2009, along with her co-founder Leslie Sutphen, Darmoni created the non-for-profit networking organization Women In Listed Derivatives (WILD). At over 1200 women strong, the organization promotes networking and relationship-building among women in derivatives through social, educational and mentoring events.

Reframing the Salary Negotiation

“One of the things WILD taught me was that you should always ask for more in salary negotiations,” recommends Darmoni, who never used to realize how important it was to do so. “In fact, companies could almost expect it, because if you’re on the other side and working for the company, they want you to get them the best deal and ask for the best price. So you want to show that you are willing to negotiate, for yourself and for them.”

She credits a WILD mentor Pat Lunkes for teaching her that when you reframe the salary discussion as part of the interview, it’s not a risk to ask for more but rather a risk not to. Braving the conversation provides another opportunity to qualify yourself and set a tone around your value.

Hearing The Feedback That is Hard To Hear

Darmoni has come to value receiving the feedback that can be hard to hear. She finds even soliciting feedback by asking “why the no” can be very constructive and valuable.

“I used to hate feedback, but I think feedback and constructive criticism is so important. You may have really good intentions and just not know you’re doing something that isn’t working for you,” she says. “The feedback may be really hard to hear and digest, but sometimes it comes from a great place. Even if you may not agree, it’s good to hear it.”

Darmoni provides the personal example of being highly responsive to communication as a matter of practice. It would have been her habit to reply to a message as soon as possible, acknowledge receiving it and promise to come back with a response if she didn’t yet have one, to feel she had closed the loop. Her direct boss challenged her to break this habit and give pause before responding at all.

Now, rather than respond immediately, she steps back and responds only when she has reflected and is ready. Not only does this give her spaciousness for more thought, it shifts her value equation to her insight and expertise, rather than her availability, and helps her clarify her thinking because she’s not focused on just being responsive.

Finding Your Own Cultural Fit

Looking back on her career path, Darmoni stayed in one position for only eight months, when the cultural mismatch was both clear and painful. She emphasizes not to see a poor fit as a missed mark in your journey, but as guidance along the way.

“One of my career goals is to be a Commissioner at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and I was working for a related regulatory agency. At the time, it felt like such a failure, and I was really disappointed that it didn’t work out,” she recalls. “Now I’m actually very proud of my time there. I think everybody has something on their resume that just didn’t work out the way they thought it would. I went on to find the cultures that I did fit in with.”

While it took getting past the feelings of wanting it to work, Darmoni is glad for the contrast of experiencing a culture she did not thrive in: “I know the dynamic of a team and how important that is, and I’m so grateful for where I am now.”

Shaping a New Asset Class

Darmoni currently works at ErisX, a U.S. based exchange and clearinghouse for crypto spot and derivatives markets. With her current focus on crypto, Darmoni enjoys helping to build a new asset class from the ground up: “Things are still shaking out. The leaders and players are still being developed, and we don’t yet know for certain what the major plays will be.”

As a way to explain Bitcoin, she cites the comparison between gold and Bitcoin as digital gold. Both involve mining, both are fixed in quantity and both have costs associated with mining and storing, so require hedging of risk.

With her passion for regulation, Darmoni would personally imagine there is valuable friction to come from the meeting of the established financial markets and the emerging world of unregulated crypto, though both may have to adjust how they approach the other.

She has a personal hunch that the crypto disruptors might even offer unexpected help: “My personal opinion is that decentralized initiatives may have thought-provoking solutions for problems that the established financial markets have and are working to solve.”

Darmoni admits that her 16-year self-driven love affair with finance, and especially derivatives, comes down to fascination with how much reach the market has in setting the prices of our daily lives and yet how little people know about the market itself, which makes it a powerful industry to be a part of.

The Value of Being Personally Motivated

During a Peloton ride with Robin Arzón that focused on finding your motivation within, Darmoni realized how much she resonated with being internally driven.

“I did not have a financial background so I learned mine through reading, asking questions and establishing relationships. I didn’t know a single person in finance or derivatives, whereas everybody knows everybody in my industry,” she says. “Aim to build relationships with mentors and sponsors. I’ve been lucky to have maintained great relationships with people that have helped me.”

While she used to find FT Weekend’s How To Spend It too frivolous, she admits she treated herself to a wellness retreat she found amidst its page for her 40th birthday.

This woman is even finding her vacations through her passion.

By Aimee Hansen

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Mentor me: The Value of Male and Female Mentors

Business meeting.By Nneka Orji (London)

Mentoring, mentoring, mentoring. We are all constantly told about the positive impact a mentor can have on one’s career; from formal support and guidance, to very active yet informal promotion of a mentee’s achievements in the presence of senior colleagues. I, too, wrote about this very topic in a previous article, highlighting the benefits of mentoring in rebuilding the image of women at the workplace.

Based on the findings of numerous reports and studies, it is safe to say that mentors are invaluable, and we could all benefit from having someone in our corner. Yet according to a recent LinkedIn survey, 19 percent of professional women in the US stated they have never had a mentor. If the advantages of having a mentor are so clear, why are so many women missing out on the numerous opportunities that mentoring relationships offer?

Finding the Right Mentor

Over half of the LinkedIn survey respondents claim to have never found an appropriate mentor. This begs two questions:

1. Are the available mentors more “appropriate” for male mentees only?
2. Should women be more proactive or strategic in the way they seek mentors?

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Recognition and Respect are Key Issues for Women Professionals

iStock_000006684238XSmallBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

According to a new study by Thomson Reuters, today’s professional workforce is collaborative, entrepreneurial, and looking for a way to live their values at work. The study of more than 1,000 professionals in Brazil, China, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States also showed surprising commonalities across genders in terms of work style and habits.

For example, nearly equal proportions of men and women said they prefer an interactive or collaborative team environment (56 percent and 55 percent, respectively). Similarly, 63 percent of both men and women agreed that solving problems is important to them, and 55 percent of men and 56 percent of women said having a vision of what they want to achieve in their careers is important to them. About the same proportions of men and women said challenging work is important to them (53 percent and 56 percent, respectively). Finally, 46 percent and 48 percent of men and women said they want to be able to be entrepreneurial in their jobs.

But the report revealed one big area where genders diverged in how they want to be treated at work: recognition and respect.

According to the data presented in this study, women were more keen to be recognized by management for the work they have accomplished, and they desired more strongly to be respected by their colleagues than men.63 percent of women, compared to 53 percent of men, were much more likely than men to say having their work recognized by superiors is important to them. Similarly, 61 percent of women were also more likely than men to say that gaining the respect of their coworkers was important to them. Gaining the respect of their coworkers was important to just 53 percent of men surveyed.

These are key differences that managers should recognize when leading teams of professionals – either women don’t think they’re getting enough respect at work, or they simply value recognition more than men. Either way, supervisors should take note.

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Do Female Breadwinners Put a Strain on the Family Unit?

iStock_000015442897XSmallBy Michelle Hendelman, Editor-in-Chief

The Glass Hammer recently reported on the increasing number of female breadwinners based on research released by Pew, which indicated that women are the primary financial contributor in 40 percent of households in the United States. According to Pew’s research, 37 percent of female breadwinners are married women who make more than their husband.

Now, in a recent paper entitled, Gender identity and relative income within households [PDF], University of Chicago researchers examine how female breadwinners are impacting the traditional family unit.

The authors, Marianne Bertrand, Emir Kamenica, and Jessica Pan attempt to uncover how the increasing number of female breadwinners is challenging traditional gender-based perceptions and societal norms which suggest that within a married couple, men should earn more money than women. Furthermore, is the presence of more female breadwinners resulting in lower marriage satisfaction and higher divorce rates?

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Tips for Developing Your Soft Skills: Learn How Raising Your EQ Can Boost Your Career

Overhead view of office staffBy Michelle Hendelman, Editor-in-Chief

Learning how to be good at your job is easy, but having what it takes to be great and be recognized by your peers and managers as a rising star requires extra effort and attention to something known as your soft skills. The senior women we interview often encourage young people to distinguish themselves from the pack as early on in their career as they possibly can.

But, this can be easier said than done when you look around and notice that most of your peers are essentially at the same technical level as you are. So what is going to make the difference between good and great at work? Listening, leading with compassion, adapting to change, being a good team player — all of these attributes (and much more) make up your unique set of soft skills, or what is commonly referred to as emotional intelligence.

Improving your soft skills, in addition to keeping your technical skills sharp, is one of the fastest ways to elevate yourself above the competition. Since developing your soft skills is such an important aspect of your career advancement and professional development, we have compiled some important tips for honing your soft skills at work. Following these simple tips will make you a more valuable asset to your company.

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Nature vs. Nurture: What’s the Key Driver Behind Gender Inequity in the Workplace?

iStock_000015781730XSmallBy Michelle Hendelman, Editor-in-Chief

The Independent, a UK newspaper, recently published a story asserting that women need to change their mindset if they want to get ahead in their careers, or at the very least, compete with their male counterparts. This perspective is based on the brainsex theory research of Dr. Anne Moir, who portends that professional women should learn how the neurological differences between men and women impact workplace behavior, and potentially contribute to gender bias they may encounter.

Could neuroscience be one explanation for the corporate gender gap, or are there other factors at play, such as environmental elements of corporate culture that reinforce societal perceptions of gender stereotypes?

A recent article in Investments & Wealth Monitor indicated that men and women are in fact hardwired differently, and that these gender differences must be kept in mind when financial advisors work with female clients. Kathleen Burns Kingsbury, the article’s author writes,

“Women view wealth as security for their loved ones now and in the future; therefore, they want to work with advisors they trust implicitly. The female brain reinforces this need for connection, as evidenced by brain scans showing the pleasure centers of women’s brains light up when bonding with others.” She continues, “Men enjoy relationships, but they are socialized and neurologically hardwired to value independence and competition over connection.”

These generalizations about gender stereotypes have penetrated just about every aspect of life, and have been identified as some of the primary reasons for workplace inequities such as the gender pay gap and the underrepresentation of women in leadership roles. But is it enough to say the gender gap in business exists simply because men and women might be wired differently? That just seems too easy.

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Voice of Experience: Celine Herweijer, Partner, Sustainability, PwC UK

rceline_herwejer_pwcBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“In terms of being a leader – I didn’t think about it too much early on,” began Dr Celine Herweijer, Partner in PwC’s Sustainability practice. “I’ve always known that I wanted to spend my life working on issues I feel passionate about, and that I enjoyed being around people and building consensus for change. I guess I’ve really grown organically from that. I’ve met role models along the way who inspired me to keep reaching for the stars.”

In 2012, Herweijer became one of PwC’s youngest partners. Her career had taken her from academia, to the UN, the NGO space and then to the private sector leading a consulting practice before she joined PwC. Despite her diverse work experience, she has been driven by a singular passion – to change the way people, companies, and governments approach sustainability.

She explained, “For my generation, this is an issue we grew up with. We were one of the first to hear regularly in our classrooms and on the news about the stresses we were putting on our planet. I had clarity early on that I wanted to take personal responsibility to influence change.”

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Voice of Experience: Lorna Chen, Partner, Global Asset Management Group, Shearman & Sterling LLP, Hong Kong

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lorna_chenWelcome to The Glass Hammer’s Spotlight on Asia Week. We’ll be featuring profiles of successful business women working in Asia all week long!

By Michelle Hendelman, Editor-in-Chief

Lorna Chen, a Partner in the Global Asset Management Group at Shearman & Sterling’s Hong Kong office, wasn’t always sure where her career would take her, but she always knew that she would do something great. “If you ask me what made me what I am today, it is my subconscious belief in myself,” said Chen.

“I was born and grew up in Beijing as a native Mandarin Chinese speaker. I completed all of my schooling in Beijing and as an undergraduate and in graduate school, I specialized in English Language and Literature and American Studies. This turned out to be a very firm foundation for my future.”

Career in Law

“I think it was destiny that after I finished graduate school, I met a group of people who were opening up their own law firm. This was right around the time that China was beginning to open its doors and privatize the legal industry. I decided to join them because it was very challenging and interesting to work for a law firm.” She continued, “I took the first National Exam ever administered in China to become a trademark agent and I ranked first. My job was to go to the Chinese administration and address issues around major trademarks being copied without permission.”

This experience motivated Chen to take the bar exam in China despite not having her law degree, a practice that was, and still is, allowed in China. It was a very exciting time, explained Chen, since China was just starting their legal system. “Originally, I planned on attending business school to earn my MBA, but after I passed the bar exam, I decided that if I was going to stay in the legal field, I needed to get a law degree to become a lawyer.”

In 1997, Chen took advantage of a unique opportunity to spend six months in Frankfurt as an international associate for a leading German law firm that was considering expanding their practice into China. “Because I spoke English very well, I was the only person chosen out of about 2,000 lawyers to go to Germany. This experience started my journey in the legal profession outside of Beijing,” said Chen.

“I had already started to take charge in my firm, so I had a first mover advantage upon going to Frankfurt,” explained Chen. After accumulating so much experience in Beijing and Frankfurt, Chen decided the time was right to start applying to law schools in the United States. However, she was asked by the partners of the Frankfurt firm to stay on board for the rest of the year because one of their mid-level associates in their Hong Kong office was leaving the firm. “The year I spent working for Bruckhaus was very valuable and really opened my eyes to what it was like to work as an international associate.”

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Voice of Experience: Kathy Matsui, co-head of Economics, Commodities and Strategy (ECS) Research in Asia, chief Japan equity strategist, Goldman Sachs Japan

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Kathy_Matsui_GSWelcome to The Glass Hammer’s Spotlight on Asia Week. We’ll be featuring profiles of successful business women working in Asia all week long!

Although she was born and raised in the United States, Kathy Matsui became interested in living and working in Japan while she was there as a Rotary Scholar after finishing college. When Matsui returned to the US to attend graduate school in Washington D.C., she decided to focus on Japan Studies in order to expand her knowledge of the Japanese economy.

During graduate school, Matsui had the opportunity to return to Japan as an intern at a large Japanese bank. She recalled, “It was a tremendously eye-opening experience to work in a Japanese institution and I gained an interesting perspective on what it was like to work in a domestic organization.” Matsui continued, “After this experience, I decided that I did not want to work for a traditional Japanese company, mainly because I was concerned about how long it would take me to get to the level I knew I wanted to be at.”

Career Path

After graduate school, Matsui relocated to Japan and began looking for a job in an organization where she would be evaluated based on her performance. “I started in Japan’s financial industry in 1989 at the peak of the asset bubble and I was fortunate to have received several job offers,” said Matsui. “I accepted a job in the research department at Barclays de Zoete Wedd Securities where I was one half of a two person team,” she added.

Matsui has always worked in research and has always been based in Tokyo, which makes her career path unique compared to many other senior people in the financial industry who often work in different business divisions and different markets. “I love doing research,” said Matsui, “And this is where I enjoy working the most.”

In 1999, Matsui authored a landmark research study around the theme of “Womenomics” in Japan that had a major impact on her career and the Japanese business culture. In her research, Matsui outlined ways in which the Japanese economy would benefit as a whole by including more females in the labor force. She argued that if Japan could close its gender employment gap, it could boost the level of GDP by as much as 14-15 percent.

She said, “I picked this subject because I thought it would be an interesting topic to write about, and all of a sudden the research took off and I was being invited to speak about the topic frequently both inside and outside the industry.” Matsui continued, “In many ways, coming to Japan as a foreigner allowed me to gain insight into aspects of the economy and culture that I might not have had otherwise.”

According to Matsui, given the severe demographic pressures of a rapidly-aging society, there is a growing emphasis on getting more women to participate in the workforce in Japan. While Matsui still focuses on women’s empowerment through her research, she spends most of her time analyzing the Japanese economy and stock market, as well as helping to manage a macro research team spread across the Asia region.

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