How the ‘male, stale and pale’ image is hurting the industry

Speaking on The Adviser’s InFocus podcast, Mr Waldron said several barriers are preventing women from entering the financial services industry.

“One of the key things is actually just the way the industry looks. The industry looks too much like me — male, stale, and pale,” he said.

“In that sort of situation, it doesn't necessarily encourage people to join an industry, they don't see themselves, but the reality of it is the industry needs to represent the community with which it operates and that is going to be one of our measures of success.

“It's also an opportunity because the more we look like the communities we service, the more the community comes to you.”

According to Adviser Ratings, women made up 22 per cent of financial advisers at the start of this year, with that number declining steadily since it reached a high of nearly 25 per cent in 2018.

At the same time, the number of advisers on the Financial Advice Register has dropped to 15,911 as of 27 October 2022, down 1,258 over the last year.

“One of the key barriers to me is just also being able to see examples of people who've done well, being able to see real shining lights in the industry that you look up to as role models that are there,” Mr Waldron added.

In a recent blog published on ifa, Helen Baker, founder of On Your Own Two Feet, explained that while many advisers may not realise it yet, “our industry has an identity problem”.

“Many women don't seek financial advice. Often, they simply don't see it as being relevant to them. Some, but obviously not all — especially divorcees — say they feel more comfortable working with a woman,” Ms Baker said.

“A lack of female advisers only perpetuates this thinking in a lose-lose scenario — we lose out on potentially lucrative clients; women miss out on advice they often desperately need,” she noted.

Similarly, Sue Viskovic, managing director at Elixir Consulting, told ifa in August that women in advice just need a little more encouragement.

“I know of many women who are currently working in the back office of advice firms as paraplanners and CSOs who are keen to step up and advance into an advice role, and just need the encouragement and support to do so,” Ms Viskovic said.

At the time, Ms Viskovic suggested that advisers hold the key to attracting top talent into the industry.