IB Firm Cultures as a Woman
Hi everyone - current undergrad sophomore here. I'm recruiting for investment banking as a woman, and would love to hear any insight you can offer on culture at specific firms. Obviously you can ask about culture on networking calls/informational interviews, but I think there's a certain element to being able to have anonymity on WSO that might allow people to share thoughts that they otherwise might not. If you are a woman I would love to hear about your experience with the culture toward your gender at the particular firm you are at. Even if you are a man, and have any perspectives to share on this, I would really greatly appreciate it. Firm culture is extremely important to me and I want to be careful about not ending up in a horrible environment with respect to my gender. Anything is helpful - thank you!
Lollll I misread this title as one of those "Ranking IBs by prestige if they were women" threads and I came here just to say that Keybanc is a butchy midwest dyke that wears jean overalls but it really nice and understands why no one wants to fuck her.
Nnn
I think these responses say enough about banking culture towards women...
We truly live in a soyciety… 😔
Not sure if posts above are troll posts or if people genuinely feel this way (in which case it shows how far behind finance is when it comes to attitude towards women).
To OP: Generally speaking across the street, there is zero tolerance of misogyny. Even compared to when I entered the industry a decade ago, attitude towards racial and gender equality has improved exponentially. Are there isolated incidents? Absolutely. But I’d say widespread patronizing attitude towards women is largely extinct.
Secondly, I’d focus on culture at the team level as opposed to institutional level. Ultimately your experience depends on the people you work with on a day to day basis. A “female friendly” firm can still have individual asshole MDs.
Thirdly, with all else equal, I’d gravitate towards MDs with families if treatment of females is a high priority item for you. I for example am a dad to a young baby girl: when I interact with my junior colleagues, I occasionally think to myself “Is this how I want my daughter to be treated when she enters the workforce?”. Seniors with babies (especially daughters) tend to be more aware and empathetic.
Came here to say that group culture matters more than firm culture. Yes, firm culture has an impact, but it's the people you work the most closely with that will matter.
To be honest - patronising still there and active. Not that much in American banks, but pretty clear and loud in European. Partially driven by the fact that to be in the American bank, everyone needs to be equally good, and people there understand you earned you spot at the table. On the other hand, European banks struggle with their made-up quotas and often actually hire sub-optimal candidates, which is detrimental to those women that actually are very good
This is completekey inaccurate. US banks have strong diversity hiire policies that have sadly made the junior hiring process non-meritocratic.
US banks are far worse than European banks for this.
That coupled with layoffs targeting non diversity personnel almost exclusively means this comment is incredibly uneducated and simply incorrect I'm afraid to say.
I’m not in IB but considered if for a long while before settling on real estate. While I never experienced that type of environment fully, I believe there are overlaps with CRE firms since men still dominant the industry. I can’t provide the detailed answer you are looking for, but I can offer some insight, so please feel free to respond to this comment if you want to speak privately. Ultimately, it comes down to personal preference and whether you feel comfortable working around men constantly. I have spoken to many females who planned on going into finance, but changed career paths after realizing it wasn’t the type of environment they would thrive in and enjoy. This was never an issue for me, but it is definitely something that I thought about frequently before beginning. IB is more saturated with men than CRE, but many actually came from banking, so the office mentality is similar in some sorts. The office environment can be harsh and anxiety provoking at times, but it far from what most think it is…harassment and sexism exists everywhere, yet many see it to be a common aspect in this his industry while it really is no different. Since there are more men, it is easy for a female to perceive everything as a potential attack on them when it most likely is not. Boys will always be boys and working with majority guys means they do not have a filter around you. It’s group mentality and that is normal. Thus, what they say should not be taken word for word. That goes for everything in life as well.
Second some of the above posters, you should focus more on group than firm culture.
It's really hard to gauge to be honest. Will just say from my personal experience, having more women on the team is not necessarily reflective of a good or supportive culture. I've worked in an guys + 1 girl group where the culture was awesome. This was a group that ran on merit and fees only.
Have also been in a group where women were better represented, and it was just outright horrible. The women unfortunately had to deal with it because it was a hot market for the sector and fees were flowing.
Take this for what it is, a personal anecdote.
I'd say get offers first. Let's say somebody here tells you that Evercore has great culture, how is it helpful to you? Do you think you can land an offer at any bank? There are not that many banks and obviously anybody who wants to get into banking should apply to all of them.
Highly recommend Jefferies. Heard they are great with women.
This made me lol
On that note, Lazard’s Chicago RX team is renown for having a strong mentorship culture amongst women
Curious, what are you referring to?
Hello there,
Your inquiry about firm culture is spot-on, and I'm happy to share a bit from my experience.
In bulge bracket banks, my journey has been defined by a strong sense of teamwork—everyone pulls together to achieve common goals. The learning curve is steep, thanks to the collaborative environment. What struck me most was the robust mentorship culture; VPs/Directors are approachable, and their guidance has been invaluable.
Now, regarding your focus on gender dynamics, it's a crucial consideration. While I'd encourage you to delve deeper into specifics during networking calls, I can say that my experience as a woman has been positive. The environment is challenging but supportive.
Feel free to reach out if you have more questions or need further insights. Best of luck with your exploration!
Warm regards,
Want to second other posters who have said that it matters which group you pick. If it is a lean group (1 or 2 MDs and a small bullpen, etc) each personality matters and if you get bad vibes from a handful that may impact your experience. While institutions are largely zero tolerance and friendly, individuals may still be behind the curve.
In all seriousness be like Sigourney Weaver in Alien and less like Sheryl Sandberg and you'll do just fine
For anyone, remember to be fun, funny and decent at the job.
If there are women at the firm in your group / office who don't make the effort to network with you before or after you get the offer - run.
The worst experience I have ever had was with the one other woman in my former office. There are really great women in finance but unfortunately there's also a lot of competition from self-proclaimed boss babes who don't realize it's not a competition amongst other women. Get to know the women at your firm / group / office.
Also - any offhand comments made by men during the interview process will get worse once you sign on. It's 2023 - we don't need to nervously laugh and wave those comments off anymore. The people seriously matter and at the end of the day, everyone networking with you has some sort of face on, but these are some clues to what kind of culture you might be stepping into...
If you do not encounter a single woman during your interview process - run. When you are interviewing with women, do not ask them how do they feel about being a female banker - I personally hate this question a lot when I get asked by people I interview. The better way to learn the same, is "how did they develop skills to become a succesful banker" - the face, and their answer, will help you the best to understand if the place is for you.
Other than that - probably, try some of the American places. From my own experiences, and those of friends, both JPM and MS are very good for nurturing women, and also helping them to develop. It might be hard, and uncomfortable, but at the end of it, you will be only better. I would not necessarily agree with window dressing of SocGen, Barclays, DB and Jefferies as have heard quite a good share of quite tramauic stories.
Finally - it is all dependent on the team, and if there is at least one woman at director or above level. However, having too many women in a group, especially at junior level, can hint into significant window dressing.
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I think what OP is referring to is almost "broey" culture. Most analyst at firms can be like this, but some are very bad. I.E. beer kegs at BGL
The group I worked at, women were highly respected. Join a big group and this is often what you’ll see.
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