It’s time for an update on one of Fieldston’s distinguished clubs: Females in Finance! Since its creation in June of 2019, Fieldston’s Females in Finance club has accomplished some truly mind-blowing things. The club continues to make an impact all around the country.
Rosemary Jiang (‘21), along with Olivia Pollack (‘21), Vivian Lee (VI) and Natalie Chen (VI), created Females in Finance, a club with one simple, yet powerful goal: make the finance field represent everyone. Their core values are to fight to “uplift women through leadership and education” and “create change by involving advocates of all gender identities.” They have worked incredibly hard to accomplish this goal.
The renewed interest in the club’s primary focus of finance comes as no surprise. With the rise of cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and NFTs, a new interest in the ins and outs of the financial world has grown in young people. For some, finance even looks to be a promising career path. But, unsurprisingly, the world of finance is not devoid of bias based on race, gender, etc.
A study conducted by the nonprofit organization Women in Banking and Finance showed that women working in financial institutions felt they were held to a higher standard and were less welcome than their male counterparts (The New York Times, 2022). The finance field is even less friendly for women of color, who garner less support and face even more obstacles (The New York Times, 2022). It is evident that the financial world needs a makeover.
Females in Finance has made big strides towards equality. In fact, FIF technically doesn’t even qualify as a club anymore: in February of 2021, they became a nonprofit organization, and they are officially certified by the government (“501(C)(3) Organization” 2022). They have branches in states all over the country, including New Jersey, Connecticut, Georgia and California (Finance, 2022).
The club has compelled many young women, including Sophie Basner (IV), to find a passion in finance. Sophie, the manager of the Instagram account for Females in Finance’s ECFS branch, says she previously did not have much interest in finance. However, upon seeing that the Instagram position was open, Basner decided to try it. She explained, “Flash forward a year later, I now sit in the club room and know what they’re talking about! They have fun and engaging ways to teach something as mathematical as finance in a visual light.” Basner described her role, “For the Instagram, [I run a series] called Woman of the Month. I try to find a woman…who is an inspirational figure in the finance world, and I write about their contributions to society. I try to pick a diverse field of women, and also make it easy to learn with slides and visuals.” Some of the people Basner has spotlighted include Sheryl WuDunn, who was granted the Pulitzer Peace Prize in Journalism and is a Fieldston alumn, and author and financial consultant Tiffany Aliche. Basner also gave insight into what the club does during the Activities period on Tuesdays. “We are currently doing a contest where you have to invest in stocks. Whoever makes the biggest profit generally wins.” Talking about the future plans of the club, she says, “We are starting a new program, dedicated to expressing discrimination in the finance world, something not talked about enough!”
Overall, it’s easy to see that Females in Finance has been a huge success, as well as something inspiring for Fieldston students to see. It shows that starting a club at Fieldston can ignite a powerful passion for you and others.
