As a young girl I was taught to “never say never.” Times are changing and we can’t foretell or project the future with certainty. The most incredible discoveries are constantly being made. The rate of change is speeding up and it’s an advantage to accept change, be adaptive and to capitalize as it happens.
= = =
[Editor’s note: Hunter is writing this article in response to a recent video that has been making waves in which renowned hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones shared his views on women traders. Watch the video here. ]
= = =
In today’s times it’s unbelievable to hear Paul Tudor Jones, a well-respected hedge fund billionaire say, “you’ll never see as many great women investors or traders as men, period, end of story.” Wow, has he not left the office in the past decade!
Yes girls, if you haven’t heard already he went on to say that “as soon as that baby’s lips touch that girls bosom, forget it. Every single investment idea, every desire to understand what’s going to make this go up or down is going to be overwhelmed by … that emotive connection between that mother and that baby.”
According to him women are doomed for trading if we have a baby and you have a second strike against you if you’re divorced. So I guess there are no equal opportunity employment policies operating for recruitment at his hedge fund!
Well, I’m sorry Paul, but you’ve got a lot to learn about modern society, so here goes.
GIRLS ARE GETTING EDUCATED
Once upon a time, in Paul Tudor Jones’ schooling days, women were often stereotyped and early in their school years were pressured into a path to learn subjects that would help them in “women occupations” and as family makers. I’m talking about subjects like cooking and shorthand.
Without the academic subjects as a base at school to spark ambition and inspired learning, how could women in that era really compete in the trading world? Without the knowledge, skills and expectations, women weren’t equipped to succeed.
Well that was then and this is now. Like a sector of society downtrodden for centuries, women are leading the charge in education. Just as many women, if not more, go to university these days. In New Zealand the top performing colleges are consistently girls only schools and girls are breaking all barriers in education and beyond.
FAMILIES NOW COME IN ALL SHAPES AND SIZES
Gone are the days where in society a woman’s mission in life was to find a husband and care for the children, period. Families are coming in all shapes and sizes and you can’t take anything at face value any more. Society is changing around the world and diversity is present now and it’s a trend in the future.
In New Zealand we recently legalized gay marriage and it’s happening elsewhere. Families are taking on a new look and some of these will have children. You don’t even need a mother in the house to have a child to care for and cherish.
With divorce running rampant child sharing arrangements are prolific. You can’t take it for granted that the mother’s destined to care for the child 24/7. Often the father has shared custody arrangements, so what’s that doing to his concentration on the job, as Paul would have us believe.
No longer can you see a woman and presume they’ll have a child and their career ambitions will be over. In an era where wives are achieving increasingly more, for some families it’s the male that graciously steps in and cares for the family.
Having a family and making it work can happen in so many ways. As a society I thought we’d moved on from these kinds of stereotypes about women.
GETTING IN THE REPETITIONS EARLY
Paul talked about the importance of getting the reps in early with trading and that having a baby at the crucial formative years in your twenties puts women at a significant disadvantage. He referred to the maximum age for peak performance in athletes as 24 to 29 years. However I don’t think we’re requiring athletic performance in the office! Our minds can continue to improve their performance, surely?
In any case, the age of starting a family is getting much later. Women are getting pregnant more towards 30 than in their twenties nowadays. My own experience is that I had my first child almost a decade later than my mother.
So if Paul thinks that getting the repetitions of trading done by the end of your twenties is vital, then that’s not stopping us women now.
In fact, since most women have had an opportunity to progress their careers before having a child, they’re more likely not to fully surrender it for a family because there’s a lot more at stake.
A FINAL WORD
So to Paul Tudor Jones, us women say, “Never say never”! The next few decades we’re going to prove you wrong.
= = =
Check out Sarah Potter’s story on Why Women Make Better Traders.
