Advice business lags behind comparable careers in hiring women

Women make up about a quarter of the nation’s financial advisers, a pretty skimpy figure considering it is a well-paying career that doesn’t require a tremendous educational commitment and offers great work-life balance, at least after the first five years or so. What’s surprising is the number of professions that have just as high a percentage — or higher — of women among their ranks.

The Labor Department reports about 62% of accountants, 44% of economists and 33% of financial analysts are women, three careers that focus on numbers and mathematics, a feature that some have pointed to as a reason why women may be avoiding the financial advice business.
About 58% of real estate agents, 45% of insurance sales agents and 33% of securities sales agents are women, suggesting that they are willing to make a living selling, another skill the successful financial adviser needs that some say turn off prospective female professionals. And women outnumber men three to one as psychologists, a discipline that many financial advisers say they spend much of their time practicing each day.