Graphic by Brian Yip ’24/The Choate News
One of the most popular clubs on campus is the Finance and Investment Club with an email list totaling roughly 340 students. I learned that fun fact at the club’s first meeting of the term.
Although I was always aware that finance is a heavily male-dominated field, I quickly realized that I wasn’t quite ready for the roughly 6:1 ratio of males to females. Unfortunately, on Choate’s campus, there is still a gaping gender disparity in the field of finance and politics, causing women to feel an absence of representation and respect.
I remember walking into the first Finance and Investment club meeting. As a very punctual person, I arrived half an hour early. Taking a seat at the back of Getz auditorium, I started working on some homework to pass the time and was completely unacknowledged by the club’s cabinet seated at the front of the room. Fifteen minutes later, a group of boys came in and were applauded for their promptness. Though I didn’t bother to think much of it, it’s the frequency of such microaggressions that make women feel uncomfortable in similar environments on campus.
Another major problem I witnessed in these meetings, as well as in other spaces on campus, was being repeatedly talked over by male counterparts. However, such occurrences are nothing new. Anyone who attended the joint meeting between Young Democrats and Young Republicans on Roe v. Wade knows, in many forums at Choate, women’s opinions aren’t valued as much as men’s. Women’s voices, especially when talking about a highly personal and sensitive women’s issue, should be prioritized over all others. In this discussion, the conversation felt dominated and scrutinized by its male participants, making it difficult for the women in the room to feel comfortable voicing their genuine, and oftentimes anecdotally charged, perspectives.
Unfortunately, people aren’t willing to address the issues of gender-imbalance by finding the root of the problem and discouraging the behavior that perpetuates it; they just want a quick fix. As a member of Choate Women in Business, I sincerely appreciate that women are given the opportunity to learn about such topics in a safe space. However, sometimes it feels as if creating a space separate from men, as opposed to having these discussions with them, only further perpetuates this divide. The first step to moving forward is ensuring that there’s a mutual understanding of the issue. Until we create more opportunities for co-ed conversations on the topic of female inclusion in male-dominated fields, we will not be able to meet a productive and pivotal consensus.
The gender divide is a widespread issue in finance and similar fields. Countless barriers are put in front of not only women, but rather anyone who is not a cisgender male. The largest of these hurdles is having our voices trampled by those that are deeper, louder, and, in many cases, more masculine. We must ask ourselves: how do we address an issue that’s been so prevalent in society for centuries? Until we learn to mitigate and address this issue on a widespread level, it is up to us all as individuals to reflect on, acknowledge, and, if necessary, change our actions to help women feel like equal members of this community. Whether it’s through a community conversation, one-on-one club meetings, or SCOPE stepping in, action needs to be taken. At a school that holds pride in their diversity and inclusivity, women have the right to feel confident in pursuing their passions and not be hindered by gender divides.
