Gender on Wall Street

This book contains advice and direction for women who are either seeking a career or who have already embarked on a career in financial services.  The book first aims to help the female reader gain clarity on her motivation in pursuing a career in finance. It then identifies potential gender-specific challenges that could create problems if she is unaware or unconscious to her surrounding work environment.  Lastly, it provides insights and exercises to develop a strategy for career accomplishment.

Written by a former Senior Financial Executive for several fortune 500 firms including M&M Mars, a Wealth Manager/Owner of a fee-only Registered Investment Advisory firm, and Professor of financial planning at the University of South Florida, the book will help women identify pitfalls, create game plans to transcend the limitations of their workplace cultures, and learn how to collaborate with their peers to create healthier work environments.

Told through personal stories, anecdotes from other women and academic research, Gender on Wall Street helps women identify the internal and external obstacles to their success.  This book will also provide a means of overcoming these obstacles through conscious engagement, personal reflection and strategy-building exercises at the conclusion of each chapter.  The reader will be guided into creating their own personal career plan—the STAR plan—which will help them achieve career success.

“Laura Mattia tells it like it is!  This enjoyable read is packed with timely, in-depth research, accompanied by vast insights into the gender gap in the financial services industry and what we all can do to improve the situation.  If you work with women in financial services or are considering entering the field, you should read this book. Women, this is required reading!  Men, do yourself and your bottom line a favor and read this book!” (Sheryl Garrett, CFP®, Founder of the Garrett Planning Network)“Sitting down with Laura’s book is like sitting with your own personal career coach, knowledgeable friend, and mentor.  Using her own experiences and those of other women currently in the financial services business, she offers guidance, tips, and common sense to help you become the success you want to be.  A must for all women who are committed to this career, and even those who are just flirting with the idea.” (Deena Katz, CFP, Texas Tech University, USA, Co-Founder Evensky & Katz/Foldes Financial)

“This is the right book at the right time, and everyone in financial services should read it. Laura Mattia brilliantly combines data with real-life stories to inspire readers to take action. Her inclusive, realistic approach to addressing the lack of gender diversity in the industry is refreshing. She not only highlights how complex the issues are, but also provides a blueprint for change. If you are a female advisor, a woman considering a careerin financial services, or a man who believes in gender parity, this book is for you.” (Kathleen Burns Kingsbury, Wealth Psychology Expert, Author of How to Give Financial Advice to Women)

“The barriers to entry for women are now well-established, but the collective action needed to take down these obstacles is harder to mobilize and sustain. In this book Dr. Laura Mattia has stepped up to the challenge by focusing on strategies and actions that can be taken by women themselves—particularly those seeking to become CFP® professionals. Dr. Mattia empowers women themselves to be the engineers of change within financial planning, rather than waiting for others to make it happen.” (Eleanor Blayney, CFP®, Author of Women’s Worth, former Special Advisor on Gender Diversity to CFP Board Center for Financial Planning)

Laura Mattia, PhD, MBA, CFP® is a professor, researcher, author and adviser. Her financial expertise is a unique combination of advanced financial degrees and certifications and over 30 years of financial leadership experience as a CFO/Controller for fortune 500 companies and Wall Street firms; as a Wealth Manager/Owner for individuals preparing for retirement, and as a Finance Professor at universities. Dr. Mattia is the founder of Women’s Money Empowerment Network™, a community of women engaged in mastering money to improve their lives.  The network provides education to women and mentorship to female financial advisers.  She hosts an internet radio show, Women’s Money Empowerment Network™ with Laura Mattia and she is the author of a financial news column and financial workbooks used to educate women.  Dr. Mattia’s workshops focus on teaching women how to make effective financial decisions and support female financial advisors to plan for success.  Her research explores the gender gap in financial literacy and in financial leadership. Dr. Mattia is also the Program Director of a newly created Personal Financial Planning Program at Muma College of Business, University of South Florida where she has designed the degree to train a new breed of competent and ethical financial advisors.  She received her Ph.D. in Personal Financial Planning from Texas Tech University, a Masters in Business Administration in Accounting/Finance and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Montclair State University.