Why Are Goldman's Women Invisible? (Asks A Former Goldman Sachs Partner)

Wednesday Goldman Sachs & Co. announced their new class of Partners and yesterday they announced their new Managing Directors. Twelve years ago I was one of those fortunate people who got the call inviting me into the partnership of the firm. The year I made it, I was one of two women out of a total of thirty-eight bringing the grand total at that point in time up to twelve. I was the youngest woman and only female trader to be made a partner. I thought I was now part of the club.

It turned out not to be the partners of Goldman Sachs Club, but rather the women partners of Goldman Sachs. It was a very special one, and I hope it is as special of one today. Seven new women were invited in Wednesday and I wish them all the best. Arguably is it not the 'made for life' milestone that it once was, but for banking, it is as good as it gets. I could not find on their web-site how many women now hold that title, but I am sure it is an incredible group.

The existing women partners would hold a breakfast to welcome the newbies in to the group. I remember mine well. I was greeted at the door with "we are going to tell you everything you need to know." Those women were not going to let me fail. We helped each other, we supported each other and together we tried to create critical mass. We mentored, we recruited and collectively we knew that the more women at the top the better. That initial, intimate breakfast, meant to signal we were a team. Then one by one we left. Of the fourteen pre-IPO women partners of the firm only three remain. Eleven of these women, including me, are now Goldman Sachs alumni and we are proud of it. The question is, is Goldman Sachs proud of us?

This week I picked up the December issue of Bloomberg Markets magazine, with Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein on the cover. The article outlined the course of events that led to Goldman's transition to a bank holding company and the role their alumni had had played. As an illustration of their power and reach a fold out page connected 42 ex-partners back to the king in the middle. Forty one of the photos were white men, as well as the eight honorable mentions. Knowing that reporters generally call the subject firm for information or comment, someone at Goldman must have known that such a piece was coming. Though Goldman is notoriously tough to get information from, you would think this would be something there would care enough about to comment on. Thanks to the Bloomberg Markets piece these are the Goldman people outside the firm that are thought to matter the most. The categories were Central Bankers, Politicians, Corporate Chiefs, Moneymen, Insurers, Bankers, Academics, Non-Profits and my favorite, Sportsmen.

This is an impressive group indeed. All very powerful and influential men and some of them I know well. The biggest category was Moneymen. Goldman has turned out their share of hedge fund managers, and most of them very successful ones. The photo did miss a few, choosing to list people whose hedge funds are either closed or closing, instead of a couple others that are still doing fine. I guess they thought "well, they still made lots of money even though their investors might not have made out so well..... Let's leave them in."

Since there was no category called women, I had to dig around and I did find one woman deep on the right side in the insurance group, Suzanne Nora Johnson, who serves on the board of American International Group (AIG). Suzanne is an amazing woman and she is most certainly in the powerful alumni category. But what about all the other incredible women alumni at Goldman Sachs? Where on the Bloomberg list is Ann Kaplan? Ann left in 2002 and created Circle Financial Group, an innovative, peer-to-peer wealth management group that umbrellas more assets than some of the hedge funds listed. She also created the Financial Education Program at Smith College, teaches wealth management at Columbia Business School (for no charge), serves on two corporate boards and multiple non-profit boards including Columbia, Smith College, the American Red Cross and the Museum of Arts and Design. She would have reflected at least four of those categories - Fundraisers, Nonprofits, Bankers, Insurers. She even deserves her own category - has the most powerful network of women on the planet. Shouldn't Lloyd be interested in staying connected with her?

And how about Connie Duckworth? Duckworth is now President and Chairman of Arzu Inc., a non-profit she founded after being called to Afghanistan to try to help women out of poverty. What she is doing is so incredible that the Skoll Foundation honored Arzu with the prestigious 2008 Skoll Foundation Award for Social Entrepreneurship. She is also a director of Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, DNP Select Fund, and Russell Investment Group. She would also reflect multiple categories and she too could even add a new one - Social Entrepreneurs. Shouldn't Lloyd want to have regular dialogue with a woman who is part of the solution for peace in Afghanistan? The category of Sportsmen exists, but not Social Entrepreneurs.

Please, before you even consider getting your fingers all warmed up and to send a response saying, "Who the heck cares about anyone at Goldman Sachs at the moment? I lost half the value of my retirement fund and they are all the cause of it," hear TWO points.

First, the point of this piece is NOT to seek acknowledgment for these women, but for women in general. Bloomberg Markets took the time to write a COVER article on Goldman Alumni and did not do their homework. The media in general, and this article in particular, had the opportunity to make women leaders VISIBLE and they chose not to. Worse yet it was written by two women who one might think would be sensitive to the lack of women's faces in articles such as these. I am taking the time by writing this to hold them accountable and to tell them they let us down.

And what an opportunity missed for Goldman? Did someone call them and say "tell us about all your incredible alumni" and they said either here they are, fifty men, or sorry we do not comment on our people? Goldman, maybe it is time to comment. They missed the opportunity to tell the world about Ann, Connie, Mary Ann, Nomi, Lawton, Mary, Leslie, Amy... and well, me. There are so many great women in the world and over and over again we have opportunities to make them visible, and we do not.

The lesson here? Our society does not merely fail to develop, reward, retain, and lift up women leaders, we have done the opposite. We perpetuate their invisibility. As Marie Wilson has said over and over again, "You cannot be what you cannot see" and we do not see women leaders, especially on Wall Street.

Might this be one of many factors contributing to what is wrong with Wall Street leadership today? Arguably at this moment of financial and economic crisis, after approximately $10 trillion dollars of global wealth has vanished, women remain virtually absent at the decision-making tables that count. For all those men who sat around thinking they were the smartest guys in the room, is it not time to ask "what could we have done differently?" Could the difference possibly have been a critical mass of women? We will never know. Sure you can name a couple of women, but that is just it, a couple? It takes critical mass to know what women's presence and leadership looks and feels like, and we could sure use that data right about now. Don't call Goldman looking for that information though as they do not have it.

In my 20 years of professional life I have seen very little to no progress for women in the financial services industry or in corporate America as a whole. Of the 94 new partners announced, seven of them were women. I thought that by 2008 things would be different. When I started in 1988 there were no women running Global Banks and today there are still none. None then, none now. Go down to the second in command, the third, the fourth, the fifth. Heck, go all the way down to the 10th. I worked on those succession plans and know the women at other firms that have done the same. You care barely find a woman, let alone many. Women are not just invisible, they are not even there.

My second point is to ask you to acknowledge that good things do come out of Wall Street, namely a lot of great women (and yes some good men too). With the incredible training that a firm like Goldman provides, and now the resources to not have to work for money, many of us go out and serve. Go back and read the resume of Ann Kaplan. She could spend her day shopping and getting spa treatments but she does the opposite, she works as hard as ever. She is deeply passionate about financial literacy, in part because while at Goldman she learned that women do not take charge of their financial lives. Right this second I know she is thinking about how we can take all we have learned at Circle Financial Group and share it more fully with the women of the world. Next week she is taking the time to come to my house to host a discussion for a large group of women around this economic crisis, how to do financial preparedness for your family and how to have the courage to give more when you are have less to give. She jumps from one board meeting to the next and gets on airplanes to visit the people who are benefiting from the programs she has funded in Vietnam and Africa through her private foundation. She is not the only one that gives selflessly of her time, but she is a great example of one. I acknowledge that Wall Street can be blamed for a lot, but good people do come from there and they use their talents to serve the greater good. That should have been the story that Bloomberg Markets took time to write.

Though we seem to be at a moment in history when women's political leadership is more accepted (if not ultimately attained), we are still so far from knowing what women's leadership across all sectors really looks like. We must all look for GREAT women leaders, lift them up and encourage them to build critical mass. We must hold the media accountable to write inclusive stories and hold corporations accountable for helping them. We must continue to invest in younger women despite tough budgets and not let diversity program get thrown out the window. We must inspire them because they are the future. They offer hope of creating a critical mass that will change the face of leadership in this country and beyond. As a former Goldman women partner I welcome the seven new members to the club and ask them all to help make this happen. And by the way, if you want me to help you figure out how, invite me to your breakfast!

Jacki Zehner is a frequent media commentator on women's success in the workplace, women and wealth, investing, and philanthropy. She was the youngest woman, and first female trader, to be invited into the partnership of Goldman Sachs. After leaving the firm in 2002, she became a Founding Partner of Circle Financial Group, a private wealth management operation. She blogs at www.pursepundit.blogspot.com.

Comments

[Jacki Zehner - Huffpost Blogger]

Some amazing questions were asked in these comments. Stay tuned for more posts in response to them.

[GBJNB]

Jacki -

You have captured the issue perfectly, and now we need to come up with a solution, which I fear may not happend for quite some time. Where do we start in correcting an issue so profound? How do we move forward when many are still denying there is a problem? Why are women just not given the same opprtunities as men? Why are we constantly behind?

You are so inspirational and I am ready to join the revolution!

GBJ

PS My daughter has been "Supergirl" for the past two Halloweens - her own choice! Next year, I am joining her with a Wonder Woman outfit, as you suggest!

[nancydiane]

Excellent article! Ms. Zehner makes a point central to women's ability to break through that glass ceiling which is still too high and even opaque -- and that relates to women's need to help deserving women! Of course, behind every such action lies a positive intention/desire. Why have we too little of that? Do we not see members of other groups helping each other achieve? Do we not see them not only helping them achieve but relishing helping them achieve? Women must examine their resistance to self-promotion and promotion of other women and adopt a more proactive, less passive and less "people-pleasing" approach to career (and probably other areas of their lives). Consideration and decency certainly need not be, nor ought be, sacrificed to these other principles -- they're not mutually exclusive. Women, claim your power! But let's not go it alone. The abundance theory teaches that there's not a limited "pie" but, rather, each person's gain can result in more, not less, gain for others! And what I read Ms. Zehner's important article to mean is that we as women need LOOK for opportunities to give each other and, yes, ourselves, a boost up. Do we really deserve any less??

[GirlwithPen]

Excellent points, Manyhats.

Re the Bloomberg PR response: While clearly the Bloomberg Markets article focused on a range of themes, it seems surprising that their PR representative does not acknowledge the truism of Jacki Zehner's post -- that in excluding women from the list in even the "minor" part of the story, women's invisibility is perpetuated. No "sorry for the omission, we'll do better next time"?

[Jacki Zehner - Huffpost Blogger]

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to comment on this piece. ( here, on my blog www.pursepundit.blogspot.com or via direct email). The issues of women's invisibility and the lack of recognition for the work women do, are critically important and the time has come! Thanks for any help circulating this piece and please keep the comments flowing.

[manyhats]

I am so glad you are putting your "fire" out into the world! One thing that really 'ignites" me is that in many cases we (the women) make the choice to "step off" the corporate ladder to raise our family and work with community organizations (clearly one of the many reasons why so few women are in senior positions in corporate America). This is always seen as "giving up" , but isn't this actually "giving back"? If we are going to change the world and make the world a better place we need to raise our kids with integrity, curiosity and vision so that the next generation is prepared to take over where we leave off. This is so integral to our life work and is at the "center" of what I would define as our most important work. Why is our work at home and in building community and future leaders not acknowledged? The lens by which "success" in the world today is defined is tainted. If we continue to applaud those who are spending all of their time in office buildings and not those who are balancing work with raising a family, helping others and building communities, our world is going to be full of men in suits without the crucial community fabric that ties our world together. I am scared for the world my children will inherent, not just when it comes to resource depletion in the values that are seen as "successful".

[JudithCzelusniak]

The BLOOMBERG MARKETS(R) magazine December cover story is about the future of Goldman Sachs, the most profitable securities firm in Wall Street history, amid an unprecedented financial crisis. As part of the package, we included an illustration showing prominent Goldman alumni in government and finance, including the Governor of New Jersey, the President of the World Bank and the U.S. Treasury Secretary. In no way is this group of 50 people intended to be a comprehensive list of former Goldman employees and their accomplishments. Further, your assumption that officials at Goldman Sachs saw the list or had any input when it was crafted is wrong. The discussion of the firm's powerful alumni is a minor part of a 5,000-word story that focuses on the dramatic steps the company has taken in the last couple of months to survive. - Judith Czelusniak, Bloomberg L.P.



Post Comment Edit Cancel

[Jacki Zehner - Huffpost Blogger]

Ms. Czelusniak - thank you for taking the time to comment. I felt the two-page fold out WAS an important part of the story. What I think you were trying to illustrate was the power and reach of the GS Alumni Network - and I agree, it is one of the most powerful networks in the world. So much so in fact, that GS now has a team of people who are supposed to help manage that network. I did not suggest that this list was comprehensive, but the goal was clearly to put forth who Bloomberg Markets thought was the most important. I will say it again - Bloomberg Markets missed the opportunity to show case some amazing women and to make womens leadership visible.

[ndem]

I was at Goldman Sachs the week of Sept 22 when Muhammad Yunus spoke to an auditorium of young GS bankers, and less than a third were women. Yet these women, especially those from Latn America and Asia, asked the most intellligent questions of the Nobel Peace laureate. They "got it". the guys played with their Blackberries...until they noticed that everyone asking questions, those who were actually seeing a new future, were the women sitting next to them.

[venturegirl]

Thanks Jacki for this. So many qualifed women are invisible and its a waste of human capital and productivity in the economy not to mention outright illegal discrimination. Take a look at Nobel Laureate Gary Becker's comments from research on women at Chicago's website: http://www.chicagogsb.edu/news/2007-05-26_Becker-to-GWB.aspx

I think Lloyd and Bloomberg need to comment on your post. If you read this Lloyd, not every women who has kids wants to give up her career. Not every women wants fewer hours. I am the bread winner and ever since I was pregnant one of your Wall St competitor firms mommy-tracked me unwillingly. Stop discriminating against us and treat each of us as "invisible" in only one way - our gender! I was a rising star on Wall Street...only internal sales and trading professional at my firm promoted over and over to new and highly sought after assigments only to be derailed by management when I had a baby (and no I didn't want special treatment, fewer hours, etc).

It's 2008, do you think all of the experienced, qualified and highly educated women are really dumb? How can we look at Wall St and corporate America's track record with women and accept that...are you guys kidding??? CEO's, leaders and firms need to be held accountable. And Obama - I am not hearing and reading a ton about what you are going to do in 2008 to end this type of discrimination.

[TimeForAChange1]

The sad thing is this issue isn't just endemic to Goldman, but pervades the whole industry. For years, the problem of how to better integrate women into the industry appeared to be on the front burner, but there has been minimal progress. A handful of superstars like Jacki rise near the top, but remain the exceptions.

Everything on Wall Street is in flux now; the only certainty is change is coming. There couldn't be a better time to reconsider why progress for women has been so stymied. Maybe it's time to reinvent the Wall Street lifestyle for both genders.

I'm a trader, like most male, who spent many years at Goldman, and learned so much directly from Jacki Hoffman-Zehner, one of the most talented traders and best human beings to ever set foot on any trading floor. Now I'm at a different firm, and couldn't be more frustrated by the issue of women on Wall Street. My firm, like Goldman, pays lip service, but takes little initiative to change the status quo. Talented women come and go, often sacrificing great potential careers after a few years to follow a husband out of town or go on the mommy-track.

Goldman and other industry leaders should step up and take real steps to attract and retain talented women. That would not only serve women's interests, but could also make Wall Street firms better managed businesses with more loyal and less mercenary workforces. That would be a very welcome change.

[bethany1212]

Congrats, Jacki! Goldman is a firm that's sensitive about its image, so it seems to me that if the powers that be there had thought about this issue, they wouldn't have let this happen. The truly terrifying thing is that they didn't even think about it. I wonder if that speaks to a broader myopia?

[oceanlover]

Jacki,

If your intent was, in part, to truly hold the authors of the Bloomberg cover story accountable for their lack of due diligence with regard to their "researching," and subsequent exclusion of any female names, why the coy behavior in not naming them? No where in your commentary do you offer up their names. Why not? I don't doubt that there are others that would like to know the names of these authors. There will always be women who do other women disservice. These two business writers, (whomever they may be,) hold torches in that regard, clearly. But then, they work for Bloomberg, a well known misogynist. (He once, notoriously, told a pregnant employee, to "kill it?") How quickly folks forget, and refuse to do their research...

[GirlwithPen]

What a stunning post. As a "daughter of feminism," I find it ridiculous and utterly frustrating how far we have yet to come. Voices like yours, Jacki, are what we need right now. Please keep writing. Keep knocking down doors. Your bravery is contagious. I look forward to the day when we no longer have to write these kinds of posts!

[andreammb]

excellent post. any chance you or someone else have shared with Lloyd?? would love to hear his reaction.

it's going to take a long long time for women to achieve something closer to parity at the senior-most levels in places like goldman but i believe it will happen. women are going to college in great #s than men and from some report i heard about earlier this year, recent female graduates are actually getting paid more than their male counterparts! the balance of power is shifting inter-personally between men and women - the next generation of professionals will necessarily view each other very differently than ever before plus we're getting married and having children later - all of which is happening as a result of our professional ambitions. it's going to keep going. i believe it is actually going to accelerate in many corners - Hilary did make 18mm more cracks in the ultimate glass ceiling; love her or hate her, nancy pelosi has made history; there have been 2 recent female secy's of state, etc., along with the female CEOs someone else posted above. there is progress. the palin fiasco notwithstanding.

what will be crucial in accelerating the process is for more proactive people like jacki taking steps to help cultivate leadership among women. mentorship, training and support of young talent are absolutely key ingredients to building leaders. gotta push now for sure but also take the long view on this one.

[Jacki Zehner - Huffpost Blogger]

I have 'heard' that Lloyd has seen it - but I have heard nothing back officially. I have had one conversation with a very senior woman at GS about it and she said she understood why I had to write it. We are friends. I have had MANY GS women and men email me, call me, post comments and every single one has been a thank you.

[iambusto]

If women put in equal amount of time at work same as the guys, and have similar qualifications they should get paid the same.

but if they need to take time off a few times a month because their kids need to be dropped off or whatever, NO.

[climbhigh]

Jacki -
First of all, as a former GS employee, THANK YOU for breaking trail for all of us women who came after you. While I felt incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be a part of such an amazing talent pool while I was there, I always felt like a bit of an outsider as a woman and didn't feel as if I had many VISIBLE female role models within the firm.

GS needs to understand that supporting women means more than just stocking the ladies room with free tampons. And of course no one should be promoted just because they are a woman. Sometimes we need to realize that we didn"t get the job or the promotion/raise because the white guy in the blue suit was just BETTER than us. But I KNOW there are hundreds (if not thousands) of amazing women at GS. And I pray that articles like yours will be a call to action for all of the banks and will motivate them to take a closer look at their practices and to recognize the extraordinary female talent they have there that has helped them achieve success in the past.
And on a side note " great hair day for Lloyd on that Bloomberg cover.