In Belgium, less than 10 percent of the 410 members of the CFA Society are women. ‘Bitterly few,’ concludes Maud Reinalter, CIO of Belfius Asset Management. When a woman applies for a fund manager position, 200 percent of the profile matches. A male candidate applies when he meets only 80 percent of the requirements.
Reinalter was the special guest at the first Networking Lunch organised exclusively for women by the professional organisation CFA Society Belgium in central Brussels last week. Nine women were present.
Although she initially had mixed feelings about the initiative, the CIO of Belfius AM embraced the opportunity to discuss career development and practical aspects of the job with her female colleagues.
Dirty laundry
One of the topics discussed was the balance between work and personal life. ‘We probably wouldn’t have highlighted the issue in the same way at a lunch with only men,’ admits Maud Reinalter. ‘On the other hand, things are changing, with fathers becoming more involved in family life and raising children.’
‘For mothers, however, it remains a difficult puzzle. You shouldn’t see a babysitter or a dry cleaner as a burden, but as an investment in your career,’ adds the CIO. The perfectionism often attributed to women also works against them: ‘Personally, I know I can’t be perfect everywhere. The mental load would be unbearable if I also had to worry about the pile of laundry stacking up at home while I’m at the office.’
Lehman Sisters
Their involvement in family life is not the only barrier to female representation in the financial world. Women are often considered more risk-averse — so much so that Christine Lagarde, current president of the ECB, remarked that if Lehman Brothers had been Lehman Sisters, the world would look different today.
But according to Reinalter, it’s not so much about gender. The investment choices within her own team (which consists of ten people, including three women) are less related to gender and more to individual character. ‘Some people are risk-takers, others are more risk managers: everyone has a bias, and the key is to be aware of it. In a team, it’s about finding the right mix.’
Promoting diversity
She does note that women tend to focus more on details, while men have a broader view of the bigger picture. ‘And in the end, both are important in an investment case.’ In other words, diversity is essential: ‘If all team members think the same way, we stop seeing risks and opportunities.’
Belfius does not enforce strict gender quotas (except on the board, where women are legally required to make up 30 percent), but emphasises diversity in the broader sense, regarding education, culture, and background. What Reinalter, as a Frenchwoman, observes: in this respect, Belgium and Luxembourg (where she also spent part of her career) are more diverse, due to their multilingualism and the presence of many expats, compared to France. ‘That is enriching.’
‘In our recruitment policy, we emphasise talent and the willingness to learn,’ the CIO explains. If two candidates of different genders have an equally strong profile based on these criteria, the female candidate gets the preference. At the end of 2023, Belfius had 40.9 percent female employees in management positions.
Parity
Despite the strong desire, both at Belfius and elsewhere, to feminise the financial world, there is still much work to be done to achieve parity. The Alpha Female Report 2024, published by the trade medium CityWire, shows that only 18 percent of active managers in Belgium are women.
For Reinalter, this is partly the result of a ‘confidence bias’. ‘When graduating from university, about 50 percent are women and 50 percent men. But women are more likely to choose business controlling and accounting, while men tend to focus more on portfolio management. That balances out after two to three years. Women seem to need to feel fully comfortable in their subject before applying for a front-office role.’
This is confirmed in the CVs Reinalter receives: while those from women often match 200 percent of the ideal profile, male candidates don’t hesitate to apply if they meet just 80 percent of the criteria.
No impostor syndrome
Is the famous ‘impostor syndrome’ also at play in the financial sector? For Maud Reinalter, the term is a bit too strong. ‘In the past twenty years, women have shown much more courage. However, they must break through the barriers they impose on themselves.’
In this regard, exclusively female networks and other initiatives promoting women can provide a safe space to overcome their initial hesitation, but according to the Belfius AM CIO, female-only initiatives should be temporary. The ultimate goal is to no longer make distinctions based on gender.