To celebrate Women’s History Month, SIFMA sought to spotlight several of its firms that have recognized the many significant milestones achieved by women in capital markets. As March comes to a close, below we highlight the pivotal moments of diversity, inclusion and advancement of women from just some of our firms. 

Academy Securities 

This month Academy Securities joins the nation in commemorating Women’s History Month. The women on the Academy Securities team include an astronaut, parents, combat leaders, partners/spouses, trailblazers in business and public service, and successful securities industry professionals. These diverse women are part of a solid team of military service veterans and proven securities industry professionals focused on the needs of our partners and clients. We maintain a high ethical code, a sense of accountability, discipline, loyalty, and strive for excellence in the pursuit of our client’s success.

BNY Mellon

BNY Mellon is celebrating International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month across the world with programming hosted by their Women’s Initiatives Network (WIN) and Women in Technology (WIT) sub-group of WIN, and in partnership with The Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion:

• Ringing the NYSE Opening Bell on March 8.
• Marquee Global Kick-Off Event featuring keynote by Megan Smith, CEO of shift7 and former U.S. Chief Technology Officer (2017-2017), and a panel discussion with Miriam González Durántez, international trade lawyer and founder and chair of Inspiring Girls, Catherine Keating, CEO of BNY Mellon Wealth Management, and other BNY Mellon senior leaders.
• Podcast on the topic of “Breaking Barriers and Biases in STEM” with Megan Smith and Emily Portney, BNY Mellon CFO.
• Company-wide invitation to contribute to a live blog with a selfie striking the #BreaktheBias pose and sharing a commitment to support the inclusion and advancement of women.
• Launch of The Pathway to Inclusive Investment, including BNY Mellon new research on why women’s investment matters, key drivers of the gender-investment gap, and ways the investment industry needs to change to break down barriers to inclusive investment; with publication of special edition of  Aerial View: Is Finance Finally Listening to Women.
• Virtual 2-day summit with AllBright, a global physical and digital female network, to equip women (and all genders) with the tools, knowledge and confidence they need to invest and several additional forums on the topic of inclusive investment hosted by WIN chapters around the world.
• Fireside chat with General Stan McChrystal, presented by WIN and VETNET, BNY Mellon’s veterans and military families resource group, to explore risk factors impacting businesses and leadership and how individuals and organizations can exert mastery over the risks we face.
• Quarterly “Investing in YOU” workshop series hosted by WIN, focused on what women and managers need to know and do to drive individual professional development and career progression and support greater retention and advancement of women.
• Robust schedule of programs led by WIN chapters around the world to engage employees and clients on topics ranging from women in banking, embracing sustainability through empowerment, differentiating through personal brand, and financial literacy workshops on crypto and digital assets.

Charles Schwab

Charles Schwab shared social posts for International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month on their corporate social media channels. In addition, Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, President & Board Chair at Charles Schwab Foundation shared a LinkedIn Newsletter on the #BreakTheBias theme and its applications for women and investing.

Credit Suisse

Credit Suisse celebrated Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day, hosting a number of events with strong support and participation from colleagues and leaders across the globe. Christine Graeff, Global Head of Human Resources and member of the Executive Boards of Credit Suisse Group AG and Credit Suisse AG, moderated a conversation on gender bias in the workplace with Simona Scarpaleggia. Emma Crystal, Chief Sustainability Officer as of April 1, 2022, published her commitment to #breakthebias. Find out more about their commitments and progress in the Credit Suisse Sustainability Report 2021. 

Edward Jones

Edward Jones leaders celebrated International Women’s Day with videos, shared on LinkedIn, about women who have inspired their career journeys. The firm was also represented on a panel with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation about the intersectionality of women of color in the workplace.

• Ken Cella, Principal, Branch Development
• Kristin Johnson, Chief Human Resources and Chief Transformation Officer
• Jennifer Kingston, Principal 
• Suzan McDaniel, Principal, Human Resources
• Penny Pennington, Managing Partner

Millenium

Millennium hosted a series of events with women leaders to celebrate Women’s History Month, as well as shared employee quotes on LinkedIn around this year’s International Women’s Day theme, #BreakTheBias.

New York Life

New York Life hosted a panel discussion commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Women’s Employee Resource Group (ERG) composed of former ERG co-chairs reflecting on the milestone anniversary and sent a special edition of the women’s ERG newsletter, especially for the 20th-anniversary celebration. The firm also held a fireside chat discussion with the Executive Director of Good Shepherd Services, a nonprofit partner of the New York Life Foundation, the company’s charitable arm, a fireside chat discussion with New York Life board executives, and an event to commemorate International Women’s Day with a career panel discussion inspiring women and girls in STEM. New York Life also donated to support various nonprofits and promoted their ERGs, leaders, and Women’s History Month via social media.

Penserra

Penserra issued a press release and posted on LinkedIn recognizing its valued female colleagues on International Women’s Day and ardently supports the 2022 theme of #BreakTheBias. 

Virtu

Virtu launched International Women’s Day with a fireside breakfast chat with their newest Board Member, Joanne Minieri. Joanne shared loads of advice on how she’s been able to find success in the similarly male-dominated field of real estate and construction. 

Virtu also hosted a 3-day Women in Data Science conference which was kicked off by another of Virtu’s Board Members, Virginia Gambale. Women leaders from NASA, DARPA, Spotify, Intuit and Virtu shared experiences and advice throughout the week. A special in-person networking event was hosted at the end of the week for all of the New York City-based participants.

Virtu has had a tradition for over two years where on the 26th of each month (originally kicked off on Women’s Equality Day back in 2020), a woman at the firm writes a firm-wide email sharing her story which includes her challenges and triumphs. This continues to remind us all that the push for women’s equality isn’t a single day or single month long effort.

Lastly, a fireside chat was hosted with a new special advisor to the CEO, Bernard King, and NBA legend, Nancy Lieberman. Both shared inspirational stories on how important respect and teamwork is.

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SIFMA is proud of our member firms’ work to honor Women’s History Month and remain committed to our own diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. We recognize there is still work to be done.

Through our Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Council, we convene industry leaders to share best practices, develop diversity initiatives, and provide resources as firms work to enhance inclusion in the workplace and serve diverse clients. Through our thought leadership content, annual DEI Leadership Summit, and SIFMA Invest!, a new initiative to connect students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority-Serving Institutions to careers in the industry, SIFMA is committed to moving the conversation forward.

To learn more about SIFMA’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts, visit sifma.org/diversity.