BMO launches website for female investment advisors

BMO becomes first financial institution to offer web-based effort to educate and recruit women to the advisory business.

In a bid to recruit more women into the investment advisor business Bank of Montreal has just launched a website that lays out the benefits to females of a career as an advisor.

"As an industry, we need to be doing more to encourage women to pursue a career in financial services as well as ensuring we create a supportive and flexible work environment so they feel comfortable and are able to advance," said Charyl Galpin, Co-Head, BMO Nesbitt Burns. "Attracting female advisors to our firm has been and continues to be a priority for us. We're committed to supporting women in what has been perceived historically as a male-dominated industry."

A recent BMO study found that eighty-nine per cent of Canadian women believe that the financial services sector should be doing more to help female employees achieve a better work/home life balance. Two-thirds report that men have more career opportunities than their female counterparts. Sixty-two per cent feel that there is still a 'glass ceiling' that hinders women from advancing their careers beyond a certain point. The new online resource is designed to combat this bias by demonstrating that a career in the financial services is an attractive choice for women seeking flexibility and stability. The site details the firm's initiatives to support female advisors, includes schedules for female investment advisor networking events, outlines the benefits of supported parental leave and explains possibilities for mentorship.

"Having a broad and diverse talent pool of investment advisors, including women, is not only the socially responsible thing to do, but it also makes good business sense as it increases our ability to attract a client base that reflects Canadian society. We need to recognize that women are controlling more wealth than ever before. Many act as CFO of their households and have a key role in managing finances," said Galpin.

The website can be found here.

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