The Women in Finance series continues! Hear from experts and connect with our financial partners – build your network!
~Contributed by Tasha Winkler
What led you to Finance?
I’d say my mom did. Or maybe later competition did.
My mom is a strong fun-loving Italian woman. One day, when I was maybe 8-10 years old, I was talking to her. In an unlikely unfolding of events, I made an off-the-cuff comment that when I get married, I’d let the man handle that. She pulled the car over, turned to me and said, “no you wont Tasha. You need to be able to fully take care of yourself. If you choose to have a partner help that’s a bonus. But you will not put yourself in a situation where you depend on anyone else.” That small, but powerful, conversation always stuck with me.
Later in life when I was in college, I was taking a required finance class. A friend got a coveted internship at Morgan Stanley. So, I went out and got myself an internship at Merrill Lynch. My friends went to Europe for the summer, and I stayed and worked an unpaid internship. That one internship (coupled with a lot of hard work and persistence) opened most of the doors that started my career.
What are unique challenges that females in finance face?
Lots. Finance is also a challenging topic. There are several ways to be successful and it can be confusing and intimidating to feel proficient. I’ve come to learn that talking about finances, taxes, business strategy isn’t a natural topic of female conversations. It is however a central topic for male conversations. Men share things they’ve learned with each other. They share strategies of making money. They share business strategy. Both successes and failures. I’ve found that it’s difficult for a woman to naturally find herself in and around these types of conversations. We must make a huge effort to seek them out.
Unfortunately, this isn’t a new phenomenon. Most of my career (15+ year) I’ve worked with individuals, couples and business owners that were older than myself. I’ve observed women, in previous generations, championed the home front while men worked and managed the household finances. This makes sense because it’s impossible to spread yourself so thin that you can know and do everything. Marriages (as in all partnerships) are most successful when there is trust and you’re able to divide and conquer all that a family and household requires. However, as time has passed, the division of roles isn’t as stark.
As I’ve started to work with younger women, I find they are interested in how to use money (and finances) as a tool to better their lives. They want to know how to use it, to understand different strategies, and exercise diverse trains of thought. This is very important. Finance is a tool. Money is a tool. And we need to learn to use it.
But again, we as women need to make intentional effort to seek this out. I tell all my female family members, friends and clients that learning about their finances and learning how to use money as a tool will be the single best gift you can give yourself. Because finance is a challenging topic some shy away from it. But you will only gain clarity by asking and only learn by doing. Remember there is no such thing as a stupid question. I encourage you to ask until you understand and can teach others. And take the first step.
Advice to other women pursuing a career in Finance?
Ask a lot of questions. There are a lot of ways to be successful. And there are many different routes you can go within finance to be successful. You having genuine curiosity is a blessing. Individuals you look up to want to help you succeed. Just ask.
Make an effort to understand why or how something works. Allow yourself to walk in someone else’s thought process. What you learn, doesn’t have to be what you follow or implement. But it’s good to understand other ways of thinking.
Get mentorships. If you don’t have one, get one. When you outgrow one, get another. These people will help pull you through the ranks. You’re not in this alone so seek out those people and things that will help you grow. And keep growing.
About Tasha Winkler
Learn more about Samara Capital – https://samara-capital.com/