Delayed gratification ... less worth it for women?

I understand this might be a bit controversial. Not trying to be sexist in any way, hear out my logic: 

  1. Perceived Value: While men's perceived value often increases with career progression, women's value doesn't experience the same uptick. Instead, youth and beauty are given a much greater weighting. Societal perception may not place the same emphasis on a woman's professional success, which might discourage some from fully subscribing to the "work now, play later" philosophy.

  2. Physical Peak and Biological Factors: In many ways women's biological clock suggests a 'peak' in the 20s. Whether we agree or not, these pressures are real and may sway our decisions on when and how intensely to pursue career goals.

  3. Family and Biological Clock: The fact remains that if a woman wants to have biological children, her timeline is more stringent than a man's due to fertility limitations. The delayed gratification approach in finance might mean postponing or giving up on that dream.

Should we instead strive for a balanced pursuit of professional and personal ambitions earlier?

12 Comments
 
Most Helpful

You're falsely equating delayed gratification with sexual development timeline. Idk why you got the impression that the two concepts are intertwined this way. They aren't. This made very little sense, at least in the way your post title framed it. 

No more "Women on Wall Street" plz, sick of this shit

 

Well, depends on what you consider delayed gratification....

If by "delayed gratification" you mean working hard now so that you can have the gratification of a great family life later, I think the OPs post makes a lot of sense.  You can't delay that gratification too long or you might miss it. 

For a lot of immature men who view family as an inevitable burden and not something to work for in the future, then it likely seems like that OP is discussing a sexual development timeline rather than deeper life gratification.

 

EDIT: It can vary honestly but I don't like judge women who are career oriented and may push off having a family / choosing not to have one. Some women genuinely don't seem to like kids enough to want to have them.

I know a Head / MD of a Sales team at a BB (family friend who used to babysit me as a kid). I think she chose not to have kids but has been married for many years. I will say that a lot of the "high power" women in finance that I've met usually didn't have kids. I know someone that used to work on Wall Street before having kids and eventually had to quit because it wasn't a sustainable lifestyle (a large part of this is due to her husband's businesses started to generate a lot of traction - was making IB MD type of money as an entrepreneur).

 

Yeah don't tell them that though, my number one client base for one-night stands is the 30+ demo of women who are convinced they're going to become infertile and die alone if they don't meet their romantic partner soon. 

 

Harum beatae ex hic animi veniam. Distinctio nesciunt cupiditate tempore. Sapiente provident distinctio vero magni sunt libero. Amet possimus id necessitatibus voluptas. Dolor eligendi minima sed deserunt esse temporibus. Eveniet optio sed et occaecati similique. Aut illo vel quia expedita qui.

Quia ab incidunt expedita quasi corporis corrupti rem. Iusto quia omnis sint ut nihil nostrum voluptate neque.

Occaecati non vel expedita enim. Rerum saepe delectus id eum possimus placeat architecto. Ea et delectus nihil animi. Quod voluptatem rem vero veniam voluptatibus sunt.

Facere modi est autem quis. Laborum est molestiae autem quia officiis. Quod veritatis voluptate explicabo repellendus ut. Nesciunt magnam ad ea modi nulla sit provident consequatur. Qui suscipit enim dolore eius culpa et et quia. Qui sit tenetur earum aut perspiciatis ea sit animi. Tempora ut occaecati velit est sint aspernatur magnam optio.

Array

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (47) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (83) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (74) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”