Don’t lose sight of the power of DEI, women urge ahead of International Women’s Day

Senior women working with institutional investors have a resounding request of the industry this International Women’s Day: understand the opportunity and obligation associated with promoting diverse opinions and inclusiveness.

Ahead of the holiday on March 8, Pensions & Investments approached a number of senior women working in investment management or with institutional investors and firms — at a time when organizations in the U.S. are facing turmoil over diversity, equity and inclusion programs and policies.

The second Trump administration has taken several actions targeting DEI programs within federal agencies as well as endowments, foundations and some corporations. Some have cut back or are eliminating diversity-related language or initiatives. On Feb. 28, the $4.7 trillion State Street Global Advisors dropped gender diversity targets for company boards — following BlackRock, which on the same day scrapped DEI targets for its own hiring practices.

Women interviewed by P&I said there are a number of things the retirement and investment management industries need to change.

“I would say to understand that fairness and equal access for women and other underrepresented groups is an ethical obligation,” Uche Enemchukwu, CEO and co-founder at Nelu Diversified Solutions, a global employee benefits consultancy focused on pensions and benefits accessibility. “It is the type of obligation that creates and maintains trust with clients and stakeholders,” including retirement plan participants.

“For example, beyond today’s politics are shareholders, including institutional investors, who have voted overwhelmingly against recent anti-DEI proposals,” Enemchukwu said. “The rejection of these proposals is an indication of what shareholders expect, and what they consider ethically and financially responsible. Further, it is a troubling breach of trust when plan/scheme investment policies and procedures push or require ESG asset engagement, including on issues of diversity, equity and inclusion, yet those managing the assets and responsible for engagement have themselves failed to ensure basic access and fairness for their own teams.”

And it’s not about the terminology, she added — using a different phrase or letters in a different order is of little concern to Enemchukwu. What matters is the action, she said.

Cultivating environments that embrace diversity

Women told P&I that in a world that is — and will becoming increasingly — complex, diversity of thought, backgrounds and experience is important, with evidence of its importance presented.

“Your voice, perspective and talent are not just needed but are essential,” said Anu Chhabra, founder of the industry group Women in Finance. She also works in business development for a number of private markets strategies.

“The industry thrives on diverse ideas and fresh thinking, and the more people from different backgrounds step forward, the stronger and more innovative it becomes,” Chhabra added.

Although the opportunity afforded by diversity has long been discussed, it remains a top request of women when it comes to what needs to be understood by the wider industry.

“I would love for a wider understanding of the opportunity,” said Kirsty Wilman, chief operating officer of Rebalance Earth, an asset manager focused on nature as an asset class. “If we can create the right environment to allow diversity to flourish, then we have a much wider pipeline of experienced and talented people who can contribute.”

Nature-based investing is a good example of the need to take longstanding concepts and look at them from new angles, she said.

“Much of sustainability and nature-based solutions involves addressing longstanding challenges with solutions we already understand — yet by applying them in new ways, we unlock a broader range of benefits,” Wilman added. ”This kind of innovative thinking thrives on diverse perspectives and constructive challenges. Embracing that challenge leads to more robust decision-making, a deeper consideration of risks, and ultimately, stronger, more resilient investments — and this can only be a good thing in the investment space.”

Acknowledging the need for greater representation of people from diverse backgrounds is one thing, but the next step is to actually make the change, “specifically, ensuring that (they) have not just a seat at the table, but a real voice in shaping strategy, culture and outcomes,” Chhabra added.

“In investment management, this would mean more women in leadership roles — not just in HR or marketing — but as fund managers, CIOs and board members influencing where capital flows and what gets prioritized as the industry still skews heavily male, particularly in senior roles,” Chhabra said.

As some young women early in their career lack confidence — or someone to share their challenges with — members of the industry can cultivate work environments where they are more accessible to the younger generation, said Petya Nikolova, deputy chief investment officer and head of infrastructure investments for the $279.7 billion New York City Retirement Systems.

Women in institutional investing have told P&I that mentorship can help retain their younger peers, but these relationships do not necessarily have to be through formalized programs.

“It could be really informal,” Nikolova added. “It could just be a conversation. If you create an environment that is encouraging and safe for women earlier in their careers, just to talk to you.”

And with a network of support in the room, it helps to provide flexibility for diverse needs. Currently a mother of five, M. Sharon deGuzman welcomed triplets in 2005, which led to her being out of the Milwaukee office of Baird Advisors for about four months.

Returning to the office, deGuzman — now managing director and senior portfolio manager — said that her colleagues supported her ability to “keep my foot in the door” by adjusting some things. “Maybe not at 100%, maybe it was more like 80%, but it really allowed me to stay in the business and continue to grow,” she added.

Baird Asset Management has more than $150 billion in assets under management.

Through Michele Chow-Tai’s journey to becoming managing director of business development at the $10.8 billion Fairview Capital Partners in West Hartford, Conn., she said she’s been fortunate to have worked in places that encourage entrepreneurialism. She has been in environments where it was “either you sink or swim,” and having a curious mindset helped her learn a lot fast.

In the early days of Chow-Tai’s career, women “had to be a lot of different things in order to survive in the workplace,” and sought to dress, think and be like men. She said that she’s glad to see things have evolved.

“But then, you also had to be willing to do things you’ve never done before, and come up with or try to see things that are also missing,” she added. “If you were able to do that and get the work done, it worked.”

One of the main problems in the present is the “gendered authority gap,” said Jenny Segal, workplace culture expert and author, formerly in distribution and institutional roles at asset managers including Fidelity International, Affiliated Managers Group and Neuberger Berman.

“The fundamental issue for women in the workplace is that they are not taken as seriously as men. Whilst we assume that men are competent until they mess up, women have to prove their worth before we afford them the confidence that their expertise and experience merit,” she said, adding that women are “guilty until proven innocent” in that way.

It’s an unconscious bias conditioned into mindsets by society, and compounded by the way that men overestimate their own intelligence, while women underestimate their own, she said.

Segal said it’s simple to change, though.

“Start by raising awareness of our guilty until proven innocent bias and then challenge it whenever it arises,” Segal added. There’s a role for allies — ideally men — in calling out instances of that bias as it happens, given that “peer pressure is a powerful behavioral inhibitor. And encourage mentorship programs so that women can be recognized and valued for their true contribution. Fairness is fundamental to creating a culture that people want to work in.”

Early in Linda Gibson’s career, she realized that qualities often seen as “feminine” — such as empathy, emotional intelligence and strong communication — were actually superpowers. Leveraging through strengths and fostering meaningful connections with them, she is now CEO and chair of the $111 billion PGIM Quantitative Solutions.

“Your underrepresentation in the industry can be a powerful asset, bringing fresh perspectives that others might miss,” she added. “Don’t mute your individuality or suppress traits like empathy, creativity or curiosity. Instead, lean into them.”

‘Being the only one or one of a few’

For the rising stars of asset management and those who are just starting out, some may worry they are not properly represented in the industry — or are unable to identify with a senior person in the institutional space.

From Nelu’s Enemchukwu experience, “being the only one or one of a few can feel heavy.” As such, she has a few thoughts on the topic.

“First, it should go without saying, you are enough, you are worthy, and you are capable. Second, invest in psychological safety at and outside of work — your well-being and your personal and professional growth require it,” she said, adding that psychological safety encompasses different things including allyship and sponsorship.

“Third, remember that even if the world is not fair today, it has the potential to be. That hope means that we must be the change we want to see, through advocating for those coming behind us and beside us,” Enemchukwu said.

During her 22 years at HSBC, Fairview’s Chow-Tai said she ended up being the only person who looked like her on the trading floor of 200 people. But she added that she was not intimidated or felt out of place.

She also had a mentor who headed a group at HSBC and would take her to meetings with the CEO and heads of division. Listening and taking notes so she could remind her mentor what had happened later, she said she did not necessarily know all the terms said in the meetings. She pointed to where she is today, so “that kind of worked out.”

“I just did me, and just made sure I was focused on what I had to do, what I was there to do and what I wanted to do,” she said, noting it was not until she got older that she was more aware of her surroundings. “But I would say forget about that. Just go do you.”

Finding authenticity, voice and path

To younger peers, women shared that although challenging, finding one’s authenticity and voice is essential.

“Once we get comfortable finding our voice and communicating, it makes the environment — both at home and at work — flow much better,” said Meghan Dean, managing director, senior portfolio manager and co-lead of the securitized sector at Baird Advisors. “Nothing’s perfect, but it does flow far easier once we can find peace within ourselves.”

When she was an undergraduate student, Dean felt that there was only one or two paths she could take in her career, but “that’s really not true ... there are many, many paths,” she added.

New York City’s Nikolova added that finding authenticity is a journey, not just a moment in time.

“You are viable. If you’re in the room, find your voice and speak up,” Nikolova said. “That, to me, is very important, and careers are not linear, right? That would be the other thing — that sometimes we need to reset. Maybe things are not going exactly as we imagine them to go, but we need to keep working on the long term, and just be focused on the long-term goal.”

But the institutional investing space “needs people who challenge the status quo and push for change,” said Women in Finance’s Chhabra. “You belong here and the more you grow, the more you pave the way for others.”

PGIM’s Gibson cautions that no one has all the answers, even senior leaders.

“Mistakes and failures are inevitable, but they are also the building blocks of growth,” she added. “Failure is not the opposite of success. It’s part of the path to success.”

So “for now, it’s all about taking risks, raising one’s hand and participating in projects, even if nervous," said Baird’s deGuzman.

“The key of when you’re going to raise your hand and offer to do something, take on a project, or take on some technology that may be new is you really got to work hard and make sure you do a really good job,” she added. “Hit it out of the park because you do that, that gives other people confidence in you to give you future projects, or to give you future responsibilities to help you grow.”