Young women in finance, you belong here.

A video message to my young women readers. A written transcript can be found below the video.

Transcript:
”I know that I have a lot of young women in finance followers and this video is for you.

I want to encourage you not to make yourself small, not to diminish yourself, not to dismiss your skills or expertise to fit in because that is what is expected of you, or what other people might do.

I hope you will embrace your expertise and be proud of it. There will be enough people in this industry trying to diminish your skills and contribution and belonging. You don’t need to add to that.

I wish I could go back and do the same. I was young when I started in this business and by the time I was 34 I was the CEO of the BD/ RIA that I worked at. But when I went to conferences, I wouldn’t introduce myself with that title. I would just say, “Oh, I work at a broker dealer,” because I felt like I didn’t fit what a CEO looked like or was supposed to be. I wish I could go back and change that, because in retrospect I can see that I had the skills and expertise and the experience. I just was worried about publicly embracing that intelligence.

So I wish for you to not do the same. To break that habit early. Embrace your skills and expertise. Know that you belong here, and it’s OK to let other people know that too.”